


The Royal Romance - What Nearly Happened...

by Certainlittlesmile



Series: The Beaumont-Jones Chronicles [2]
Category: The Royal Romance (Visual Novel)
Genre: Airports, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Day At The Beach, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Italy, Kissing, New York City, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Secrets, Tattoos, Tent Sex, Truth or Dare, Waltzing, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:26:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21871537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Certainlittlesmile/pseuds/Certainlittlesmile
Summary: It happened on a New York rooftop on a starry August evening.But it nearly happened many times before that night.What if she'd admitted her feelings earlier, what if he'd reacted differently to something?Here are ten stories that never were.Did it happen at the right time when it finally happened?You decide.(Usual disclaimers apply, these are not my characters and the introductions and the actual events may be lifted from the original story)
Relationships: Maxwell Beaumont/Main Character (The Royal Romance)
Series: The Beaumont-Jones Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1641181
Comments: 9
Kudos: 30





	1. A common goal

Jen felt sick, wishing the ballroom floor would swallow her up, as she stood with Maxwell at the side of the room, the two of them surrounded by various noble ladies. They were all discussing Olivia’s _power move_ , the audacious kiss she’d lavished on Rick as they’d waltzed together. And ten minutes ago, no doubt Jen would have been just as unimpressed as the others were.

But in the last five minutes, she’d had an _epiphany_. And now her head was spinning, partly due to drinking quite a lot of wine on an empty stomach, partly due to the realisation that she would rather stay in Maxwell’s arms than take her turn with the Prince, and partly due to the fact that she’d just made an idiot of herself by attempting to explain her discovery to Maxwell.

Currently she was reliving their interaction on the dance floor, remembering the feeling of his hands grasping hers and spinning her around, helping her to relax and forget about Rick and Olivia, in fact anyone else in the room other than herself and Maxwell, making her feel happy and alive. He’d suddenly twirled her so that she was facing out, so that she had her back to him as he drew her surprisingly close. At the feel of his arms around her, her whole body had tingled, and her knees had felt weak.

“You okay?” he’d asked her.

“Hell yeah,” she’d gasped. Quite suddenly and unexpectedly, she’d realised that she was _so much more_ than okay. She’d looked at him with new eyes.

He’d laughed anxiously. “I bet you’re itching to get your chance to get this close to Rick…”

She’d shaken her head, and whispered in his ear. “Maxwell.. there’s no-one else I’d rather be dancing with right now.”

He’d drawn away from her abruptly. “Jen…”

“What?”

He had looked mortified. “It’s better if you don’t talk like that.”

She’d felt hurt. “It’s not like anyone can hear us.”

“No, but if they did.. You’re a suitor. You should always be thinking of Rick.”

She’d pulled a sulky face at him. “Well, perhaps Olivia shouldn’t have chosen this waltz…”

“You’ll get your chance, Jen,” he’d warned her.

And, she had. And she’d waltzed with Rick. And she’d smiled and made out she was delighted to be in his arms. And he’d told her how special she was to him. But it hadn’t made her feel special. Not as special as she’d just felt in the arms of another.

As a result of her internal wranglings, she was only half aware of the conversation around her, finally zoning back in as she heard Maxwell’s upbeat voice join the others. “Right.. Excuse us one moment..”

She felt his hand touch her arm, and with a tip of his head he led her some distance away from the other ladies. She followed him towards the ballroom door, where he stopped to look at her with an unusually serious expression.

“We have a chance to play a little politics here,” he explained.

Jen laughed, not really in the mood for this. “Is it the kind of politics where _I_ make out with Rick in front of everyone?”

He looked disappointed. “Not unless you want everyone gunning for _you_!”

**_What nearly happened…_ **

She took a deep breath. “Well then. If not Rick..”

Giving him no chance to think about what she was saying, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gently pulled him towards her. It wasn’t the elegant kiss she’d had in mind, but he didn’t pull away, and she closed her eyes, partly to shut out the world around them, partly in bliss because it just felt so… right?

She felt his arms around her waist, but instead of pulling her closer, they nudged her away just slightly enough to disconnect their lips. She sighed, and opened her eyes.

His expression was one that matched her feelings about this whole situation perfectly. “I… think we need to talk in private, Jen.”

She nodded, and followed him sheepishly out of the ballroom and up the stairs, towards the bedrooms. Her heart beat rapidly as she watched him scan along the corridor to make sure nobody had seen them come this way, before he followed her into her room, closing the door quietly.

She stood by the bed, waiting for him as he switched on the light. He turned to her, clearly nervous. “So… uhhh.. I don’t _think_ anybody saw that…”

She laughed, and shook her head. “I don’t care who saw, Maxwell..”

“Listen, I know you’ve had a bit to drink, and I get that you want to make Rick jealous after what just happened with Olivia. But like I said to you earlier, we need to be _careful_ how we do it.”

“You don’t get it, do you?”

Watching his expression, it was clear that she was right. “Don’t get.. what?”

“Something.. _happened_ down there tonight. Something I wasn’t expecting.”

“Yeah, the whole Rick and Olivia..”

“No. Before that. When we were dancing. Before I said what I said to you.”

“I don’t follow.”

She took a step closer, and although he looked distinctively uncomfortable, he didn’t retreat. “I realised something. Something that I _think_ I’ve known ever since the day you brought me here. My head might think I’ve come here to marry a Prince. But I think my heart is in it for different reasons.”

“Oh?”

She placed her hands on his shoulders again. “I know I’ve messed up. And I’m guessing you’ll be putting me back on a plane tomorrow morning. But..”

Now he surprised her, leaning into her desperately and pulling her close again, and this time it wasn’t so awkward when their lips met, it was more as if they had been drawn together by a magnetic force. Her whole body relaxed in the warmth of his arms for a moment, as their lips finally parted. He was smiling gently down at her, and she couldn’t help but smile dreamily back at him.

She felt a euphoric feeling rise in her stomach. “So, you’re not sending me back then?”

His expression was tender and his tone soft. “No.”

But then all of a sudden he jerked away, removing his hands from her waist and throwing them up into the air. He was no longer smiling. “No. This isn’t right.”

“Maxwell.. what?”

“This isn’t the right thing to do, Jen. You’ve had a drink, and.. I’m not going to take advantage of that.”

Her heart leapt. He was one of the good guys. “I know I’ve had a drink. But… I know best what I want when I’ve had a drink.” She gazed at him. In her head right now, it all made sense. Why hadn’t she seen it before tonight?

He wandered over to the window. “Listen, Jen. We just… there is _no way_ that anything can happen between us. Think about it. You’re a suitor. I’m your sponsor.” He ran his hands through his hair, and she could sense his exasperation. “Where has this even come from?”

He folded his arms, but she could see straight through his resistance. His eyes were fixed on hers, and she knew exactly what _they_ were saying to her. But his voice was saying something very different.

She sighed, and nodded. “I don’t know. I guess you’ve got a point.”

“You and I have a common goal. We need to… stay focused.” He was no longer meeting her eyes, his face flushed with embarrassment.

She wasn’t sure if he was addressing her, or himself. “Yeah. You’re right, Maxwell.”

“It might be a good time for you to call it a night,” he suggested, looking back up at her. “I’ll let the others know you’re not feeling too good. When you wake up tomorrow, just think about what I said.”

She laughed. She would be thinking about his lips alright, but not the words that they had uttered.

“That is, if you can remember any of this tomorrow,” he said, his carefree smile returning for a moment, as he wandered back across the room, touching her arm as he passed her.

“Hey, I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay,” he said, pausing for just one second longer than she’d hoped he would, and then heading for the door. “Night, Jen.”

“Night, Maxwell.”

As he left the room, she saw him take one last look back at her, his expression pained. He shut the door.

She sunk onto the bed, her head in her hands. Even if she didn’t remember any of this tomorrow (and she really hoped she didn’t), she knew that he would, and what she’d put him through tonight was, actually, pretty shitty, when you looked at it objectively. He would forgive her. Of course he would. But, he wouldn’t forget.

She had to remember that they had a common goal.

**_What really happened…_ **

“We have a chance to play a little politics here,” he explained.

Jen laughed, not really in the mood for this. “Is it the kind of politics where _I_ make out with Rick in front of everyone?”

He looked disappointed. “Not unless you want everyone gunning for _you_!”

“Maybe I do,” she said, looking sadly at him. fighting her instinctive reaction. She was so confused right now.

“You need to see this as a good thing, Jen,” he said. “Olivia is one of the strongest competitors here, and she just made a mishap. Look at Kiara. She’s clearly upset by Olivia’s display. And she’s alone by the appetisers right now. This is what we call an opportunity. You should get on her good side. If you can drive a wedge between her and Olivia, it might weaken Olivia’s position. And if Kiara has good things to say about you, it’ll help your reputation at court!”

Jen sighed. “I’ll give it a shot.” Without another word to Maxwell, she crossed the ballroom and approached Kiara. _Stay focused. You and he have a common goal._


	2. Closer

Chapter Two - Closer

“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to enjoy the water,” Drake stated.

Maxwell couldn’t join in with that activity, for obvious reasons. “I’m ready to stretch out like a beached whale.”

“Suit yourself. You coming with me, Jones? Hana?” Drake asked the girls.

“Hang on, we need to put on sunscreen before we go,” Hana said, and the three of them started fussing about with sunscreen. Maxwell stayed where he was, settling down by some rocks, and observed as they headed towards the water. Hana had already removed her dress to reveal a bikini, Drake was self-consciously removing his shirt. Jen was applying sunscreen to Hana’s back, and Hana returned the favour, although Jen was still mainly dressed, due to her lack of swimwear.. which had been his stupid fault, of course. It still made for an interesting watch.

They were splashing around in the water now, and after a few minutes Hana and Drake were fully in the sea, swimming. He noticed Jen heading back in his direction, and lay flat, looking up at the sky for a minute, pretending he had not noticed she was coming back. He closed his eyes.

After a few moments, he felt something shading him from the sun, and opened his eyes to see Jen standing over him.

“You seem a little overdressed for the beach.”

“Huh?” he said, sitting up.

She sat down next to him. “Don’t you want to… take off your shirt?”

Oh no, was she onto him? Had Drake told her?

**_What nearly happened…._ **

He had to have done. He smirked at her. “I’m guessing my good buddy Drake just spilled my deepest darkest secret..”

She looked at him, shock and confusion on her face. _Crap. He hadn’t._

“What guilty secret would that be?” A smile crept back to her soft lips, and her eyes lit up with mischief.

“Uh… that I’m really a robot underneath these clothes?”

She laughed. “Now I _really_ wanna know!” Playfully, she grabbed at his collar. “Come here..”

“No! You can’t..”

She wasn’t giving up, and he shot her a desperate look. Ah, what harm would showing her his hippo do? She wasn’t going to let this lie now. “Wait. Not here.”

She stopped, and looked at him with clear intrigue.

He stood up, and headed across the beach, through the crowds, and in the direction of a small structure where the toilets and showers were. She was following closely behind, and soon joined him around the back of the block, where they were just out of view of the other people on the beach. Her eyes were on him, expectantly. Oh, now this was awkward.

“Turn around,” he said, gesturing for her to look away.

“I’m _sorry?_ ”

He put his hands on her shoulders and span her around, and was rewarded with one of her infectious giggles. “Now, just you stay facing that way until I say you can look..”

He quickly unbuttoned his shirt buttons and pulled off his sleeves, folding his black shirt carefully and hanging it on a nearby fence post. It wouldn’t do to crease it. “Okay.”

She span around, eyes on his body. There was a long silence, but she finally broke it. “Awwww! That’s the cutest!”

“Oh, thank god you like it. I thought you’d laugh.”

“But why hide this little guy away from the world?” She pointed to his hippo tattoo, and looked back up at him curiously.

“Eh, Bertrand hates it. He was so angry when I got it done. He banned me from letting anyone at court see it. Said if he ever saw me shirtless in public, he’d throw me out. And.. I’m not convinced he was joking.”

She creased up with laughter, and he smiled back.

“Honestly. What’s not to love?” She gently touched his chest with her finger. “You shouldn’t listen to Bertrand, you know. He ruins everything for you. And he’s not even _here..”_

“Yeah, but he has his ways of finding out what I’ve been up to. Especially if I’m having too much fun.”

She blushed, her finger still in contact with his skin. “Are you having fun now?”

He nodded. “More fun than I was. How about you?”

“Yeah,” she said, lowering her hand and swinging both of her arms playfully. “It’s nice to take a break. I’ve not had too much down time since I got here. It’s been a whirlwind of balls and events. This is nice.”

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s good to rest up.”

“And also,” she said, edging closer. “It’s nice to spend time with _you_.”

He felt his heart flutter. “Oh?”

“Yeah. We really only see each other in-between these social events. But, I kinda like hanging out with you, Maxwell.”

“Well,” he said, putting a friendly hand on her arm, and trying not to show how flustered he felt, “I kinda like hanging out with you too.”

She was looking right at him with those big green eyes, and he had to make himself look away, anywhere else. At the sand behind them. With a human shaped shadow getting bigger and bigger. _Oh._

He reached across to the fence for his shirt and threw it on, while she looked on in puzzlement. “What’s the matter?”

The shadow was gone, presumably someone had gone into the toilet block, because why would they go around the back? “Nearly got caught out, Jen. You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Nah. I like that we have a little secret.” She helped him do up the last few buttons, maintaining eye contact as she did.

He smiled. Despite his doubts, maybe it wouldn’t do any harm to let her get a little bit closer. “Come on, let’s get back.”

They wandered slowly back around to where the nobles were mingling. He glanced at her expression; her face was glowing. He couldn’t hide his own grin.

“We’ll have to do this again,” she said as they drew nearer to where the others were gathered. “I mean, take a bit of time out together. Like I said, I like spending time with you.”

“Is that ‘cause you’ve seen me shirtless now?” He winked at her.

Her eyes twinkled. “It definitely doesn’t go against you.”

**_What really happened…._ **

She sat down next to him. “Don’t you want to… take off your shirt?”

Oh no, was she onto him? Had Drake told her? “No can do. Can’t risk burning up. No SPF in the world is strong enough to protect me.”

“Well, sun safety is important..” she said, a strange expression on her face.

“More like Bertrand would be mortified if I were to appear at royal functions beet-red,” he said. It was a half-truth.

Jen’s eyes grew wide. “Does Bertrand ruin everything for you?”

“Just, most things,” he admitted. “But, I’m having fun now that you’re here. Are you having a good time?”

“Yeah,” she said. “It’s nice to take a break. I’ve not had too much down time since I got here. It’s been a whirlwind of balls and events. This is nice.”

“Yeah. It’s good to rest up.”

“And also,” she said, edging closer. “It’s nice to spend time with _you_.”

He felt his heart flutter. “Oh?”

“Yeah. We really only see each other in-between these social events. But, I kinda like hanging out with you, Maxwell.”

“Well,” he said, putting a friendly hand on her arm, and trying not to show how flustered he felt, “I kinda like hanging out with you too.”

She was looking right at him with those big green eyes, and he had to make himself look away, anywhere else. He couldn’t see anyone they knew around, other than Penelope. Penelope seemingly in tears. Oh.

“I hate to ruin this beautiful moment,” he said quite truthfully, “But I see a great opportunity for you.. Look over there!” He pointed in Penelope’s direction. “Looks like she’s having a hard day.”

“Yeah,” sighed Jen. “Poor Penelope.”

He sat up straight, and pushed Jen away. “This could be your big chance to get her on your side! Remember, competitors or not, you’re going to need the court to think well of you if you’re going to be the next queen. So get over there and charm her!”

She stood up and did as she was told, and he felt quite mean and uncaring for a moment. Always pushing her away, trying to find opportunities for her to gain advantages. She always went with it. But he had to push her away. He couldn’t let her get much closer.


	3. Bertrand was right

“You know,” Jen said softly, “I don’t really know all that much about you.” It was part icebreaker, part desperate curiosity, that had prompted the statement in her mind.

Maxwell didn’t look at her. “There’s not really much to know.”

“Really?” she challenged him. He wasn’t getting away with this. “I’ve seen you talk about yourself for hours at our social events.”

“That’s just, you know, small talk. Nothing real.”

“Tell me something real,” she urged him.

He looked at her now. “What do you want to know?”

Jen thought for a minute. She thought she knew the answer to the obvious question she wanted to ask, so she asked another. “Have you ever loved someone before?”

He looked away, throwing another stone. “Oh, you don’t play around with those questions, do you?”

She giggled. “I do not.”

“Well, Bertrand’s the more eligible between the two of us. He’s the Duke of Ramsford, after all. I’ve always kind of thought I’d figure things out once he was married. But I don’t think Bertrand’s getting any closer to getting married…” He looked quite uneasy for a second, before his smile returned. “But there’s no need to dwell too much on it.”

**_What nearly happened…._ **

He hadn’t answered her question. She should have known he wouldn’t. Well, she wasn’t going to let this lie.

“Maxwell, you can tell me where to go if I’m overstepping here, but… you didn’t answer my question.”

He sighed, puffing out air in frustration, and skimmed another stone.

She waited, but by now was resigned to the fact she wasn’t going to get an answer. Even though she desperately wanted to know, it was none of her business, really.

“Truth is, I don’t know.”

Now they were getting somewhere. “If you don’t know, then that probably means you haven’t.”

“I mean.. I _thought_ I was. Once. A _long_ time ago.” He threw another stone, still gazing over the river. “But, recently, I’ve questioned it.”

“Why?”

Again there was a long silence, as they both looked out across the water.

“Okay,” she said eventually, curiosity getting the better of her. “So, another question for you.” No point in sticking to the safe ones anymore. “What was Bertrand _really_ having a go at you over earlier? Whatever it was, it really got to you. And if I can help, I want to know.”

He laughed, and turned to face her. “You really want to know?”

“I just asked the question.”

“Okayyyy…” He stood up and walked towards her. “So this is both hilarious, and a bit awkward, but Bertrand thinks I’ve got a crush on you.”

She gulped, her heart pumping in her chest. “What.. why does he think that?”

And as she looked intensely into his blue eyes, she saw the truth in them.

 _Oh my god,_ _Bertrand was right._

“Jen! Maxwell!”

She span around to see Rick, Hana and Drake approaching.

“Oh, hey!” she called over to them. “We’ve been skimming stones.”

She looked back at Maxwell for one last moment. _What am I going to do? This complicates things even more. Maybe we should just laugh it off.._

_No. He knows I know. But he doesn’t know I feel the same way. And if I tell him.. what then? We both know why I’m here._

“Lady Jen,” Rick said, placing his hand on hers. “Allow me to escort you back to your horse.”

“That would be wonderful,” she said, deliberately turning away from Maxwell, and following Rick. She felt a little queasy as the two of them walked away from the others.

**_What really happened…._ **

He hadn’t answered her question. She should have known he wouldn’t. But she decided not to challenge him on this fact. After all, even though she was desperate to know the answer, it was none of her business, really.

She watched him for a few more moments, and then spoke again. “So what was it like, growing up with Bertrand?”

“He was grumpy and frowny all the time. Legend has it he was born with a scowl on his face..”

“Really?” That didn’t agree with what he’d told her a few days ago.

“I’m just joking. He always looked out for me, but he also got me into plenty of trouble. But we had a lot of fun. Probably too much.”

“He sounds so different from now.”

Maxwell nodded. “Hardship changes people.” He skimmed another stone.

“Has it changed you?”

“Oof. I don’t think so. Life’s still pretty sweet.”

Ever the optimist. She loved that about him. “Do you always see the bright side of things?”

He turned to look at her. “Bertrand says it’s a self-defence mechanism. I don’t know.”

Jen pondered on that. It seemed to her that Bertrand was right. He knew his brother better than anyone could; on the surface all his positivity made him shine, but deep down, she was beginning to see glimpses of the real Maxwell.

“I guess, somebody’s got to,” he went on.

“I like that about you,” she said. “Keep on staying positive, Maxwell.”

“I don’t plan on changing,” he said, as Rick, Hana and Drake approached them.

“Lady Jen,” Rick said, placing his hand on hers. “Allow me to escort you back to your horse.”

“That would be wonderful,” she said, with a subtle wink in Maxwell’s direction, seeing the enthusiasm in his eyes. With that, she joined Rick, and the two of them walked away from the others.


	4. Truth or dare?

Chapter Four - Truth or Dare

“This was so much fun tonight! Thank you!” Hana said to them all.

“Any time,” said Jen, her ballgown now back on.

“Yeah, you know me. I don’t need much of an excuse to party,” said Maxwell, although his expression said otherwise. Jen really wished she could get inside his head, to see what was going on in there.

“And I’m still not sure why I came this time, but I guess I’d do it again,” Drake said.

“Drake, I think we’re graduating from friends to _best_ friends..” Hana laughed.

Drake stalled. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“I dunno, man,” Maxwell added. “We all drink together, goof off together, spend most of our time together..”

“No..” said Drake in resistance, as Hana hugged his arm.

“It’s too late Drake. We are best friends!”

Drake sighed. “I guess I’m just going to have to accept this, huh?”

“It’s probably for the best,” Jen giggled. “You could do _much_ worse than the three of us!”

“That’s true, isn’t it?” sighed Drake. “Okay, you got me.”

Maxwell and Hana jumped up and down. “Yay!”

“Please tell me this isn’t a thing we do now,” said Drake, looking at Jen.

Jen smiled and jumped up and down. “Yay!”

“I’m surrounded…”

“But in a good way, right?” Maxwell asked him, his hand on Drake’s shoulder.

“I said what I said,” Drake said, as Hana stifled a massive yawn.

“Okay, we should probably call it a night before we break Hana,” Maxwell said, and left the room.

Jen stood up and hugged Drake and Hana goodbye. She headed out into the hallway to say goodnight to Maxwell, but he’d already gone. Strange. Had she said something to upset him? Or was he dwelling on his past demons?

She gazed at the stairwell up in the direction of the suite where Rick was staying. Where he’d asked her to meet him at the end of the night. But it was probably too late now. She would see Rick soon enough. There was someone not so far away she’d much rather meet up with now.

She sighed, asking herself a question. Truth or Dare?

**_What nearly happened…_ **

Dare. There was something more important she needed to do right now.

She called briefly into her room first, and, heading for the identical minibar to the one in Hana’s room, quickly started fixing two more glasses of the cocktail they’d just been enjoying. She’d been watching Maxwell like a hawk as he made it up, so she thought she remembered what went in first; although cocktail making was something she’d had to do as part of her job, this one hadn’t been on the list. Orange juice, vodka, schnapps.. and where was the cranberry juice? There. Grinning to herself, she grabbed the two glasses and headed back out of the room, and crept down the corridor.

She gently knocked on his door, and, about five seconds later, it opened.

“Hey.” He came out into the corridor, closing his door behind him. He had bare feet and the top few buttons of his shirt were undone.

“Hey. Wasn’t sure if I’d catch you before you passed out.”

His eyes were wide. “With all that adrenaline floating around from such an epic night? Nah. I’m still not likely to sleep for a while.”

“Oh, well, I’m up to continue the party if you are,” she said with a small smile, passing him the glass. “More Sex on the Beach?”

He grabbed the glass from her. “Did I ever tell you that you are a legend, Jen Jones?”

“I’m sure I’d have remembered if you had,” she murmured, hoping she wasn’t obviously blushing. “I guess we’d better take this party elsewhere though. Don’t want to wake anyone up..”

He nodded. “We could pop in there?” He gestured to his parents’ bedroom.

“What’s wrong with your room?”

He laughed. “ _Everything’s_ wrong with my room, Jen. You.. you don’t want to know.”

She did, but accepted his excuse. “Okay.”

She let him lead the way into the room she’d discovered earlier, complete with four poster bed and embarrassing family photographs. The room for _impressing_ people, apparently.

She closed the door. “Cheers,” she said, clinking her glass with him, and going to sit down on the bed. “No end to the party!”

He put the drink down and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I have the perfect post-party playlist..”

She giggled. “I’m surprised you’ve still got the energy for dancing..”

“Oh, you have no idea.” He made finger guns at her, and she felt so warm inside. As the music started to chime out of his phone, she watched as he jumped up on the bed and started dancing like there was no tomorrow. Kicking off her heels, she joined him, and, laughing carefreely, they jived together for the duration of the track.

Afterwards, she jumped down. “Wow. I need a refill.”

He gave her a rather intense look, then jumped down too. “Normally my bed dance parties are solo affairs, but I could get used to having a partner.”

Hearing him say this did things to her. “Well, I’m glad to hear it.”

They both sat down and took a drink of their cocktails.

“Ugh, this isn’t as nice as the one you just made..”

“Hey, every cocktail is different. That’s the beauty of them. They’re random. The only one I’ve really perfected is my signature one..”

She raised her eyebrows. “And what’s that? Tequila Squidrise? Or Peacock Colada?”

He boomed with laughter. “Oh, Jen. I love it! Peacock Colada… That would actually work! From here on in, it has a new name.”

“Gonna make me one?”

“Maybe another time,” he said enticingly. “We’re out of pineapple juice, and Bertrand wouldn’t let me order any in as we had so much orange juice in stock.”

Made sense. “Ah well. I look forward to that.”

He leapt up. “Another dance?”

“In a bit. Just wanted to check you were okay first. You disappeared quickly just then. I didn’t get to say goodnight.”

He looked away. “I’m okay. Sorry, I never gave it a thought.”

She knew this wasn’t true. Something had upset or unsettled him. “You sure? I haven’t upset you?”

“No, no. Nothing you’ve ever done or said to me has upset me. In fact, quite the opposite. Life’s… more fun with you.”

“Same,” she said before she could stop herself. “Life has never been so much fun. I’m so glad I came here with you, Maxwell.”

“And your life is going to be even _more_ fun when you’re our Queen,” he said, but his voice didn’t carry the usual joy in his declaration.

“Is it though?” She looked at him, wide eyed.

“Think about it. You can decree a law to make every citizen have a bed dance party every night. How much fun would everyone have?”

She laughed. “And reduce the taxes on pineapple juice..”

“Yes! And make refusing to take part in Truth or Dare illegal.”

She smiled to herself, and looked back at him. “How about we have another round of Truth or Dare. Just you and me?”

“Umm..”

“Hey. You’re breaking one of my Queenly laws if you say no. I’ll have to lock you in the cellar..”

“Ah, go on then. But you’re going first. Truth or dare?”

She laughed. “I am _so_ going for Truth, after the last dare _you_ came up with!” She was still a little shocked that he’d dared her to strip down to her underwear, if she was completely honest.

“Um, yeah, about that… I’m sorry! I don’t know why I came up with that one..”

“I’m so lucky that Drake was the perfect gentleman and stepped up to the plate..”

She noticed his face fall for a second, them perk up again. “And then you joined in anyway! You know you wanted to!”

“Alright, it was fun. You should’ve joined in!”

“Jen, if Bertrand had caught me running around the ballroom like that I’d have been thrown out on the street. Anyway, so you’re going Truth?”

She nodded. “Aha. Truth.”

He looked contemplative for a few seconds. “Okay.” He turned to face her. “If House Beaumont won the lottery tomorrow, and had no money worries ever again as a result… and then Rick asked you to marry him at the Coronation Ball… would you say yes?”

Her stomach churned with anxiety. She knew the answer, but what did he want to hear?

“Come on, truth!” He prodded her arm. “You are sworn by Truth or Dare!”

She took a drink of her cocktail, then put it back down on the bedside table. “No. I wouldn’t.”

He looked at her, shock on his face. “Mind if I ask why?”

She grinned. “Because I’d be marrying you or Bertrand instead, silly? I want to be a lottery winner! It sounds like much more fun than being a Queen.”

“Good point you make. We’d be richer than Rick. That Euromillions has a huge jackpot.” He shook his head, clearly amused.

She looked at him carefully, seeing hope in his eyes. But hope for what? This was a very delicate operation, trying to tease something out of him that might not even be there, other than in her fantasies. Then, she had an idea. A brilliant, awful, enticing idea.

“So. Maxwell. Truth or dare?”

He jumped up from the bed, limbering up. “Well, you know I’m ready to choose dare this time..”

She smiled smugly. “That’s fine,” she said. “In that case, I dare you to kiss me.”

His face was a picture of amazement and confusion for a few seconds, but then settled back into its default smile. “Uh, I’m not sure…”

“Come on,” she said, standing up herself. “You are sworn by Truth or Dare, remember?”

“Uh…”

She sat back down on the bed, and patted the bedspread next to her, a grin fixed to her face. This would prove or disprove her theory.

He appoached her, sat down, and laughed. “Really?”

“Really. It’s a dare. It doesn’t mean anything. Just a bit of fun between friends.”

He began to move his face closer, but stopped. “And you’re not going to tell Rick about this? Or Bertrand?”

“Why would I? This is just between us.”

She waited, and just as he closed the distance, she shut her eyes. Their mouths bumped awkwardly at first, but then they parted briefly and came together more smoothly, his soft lips lingering on hers for longer than she’d hoped possible. She parted her lips in anticipation, and was rewarded as their tongues collided, sending shivers down her spine.

She placed her arms around his neck to steady herself, as the kiss continued. Eventually, he drew away, and she sighed involuntarily, opening her eyes. He was gazing back at her that way, and there was no mistaking now that his reluctance had been a front.

No words were said for about ten seconds, until he broke the silence.

“You know what I think?”

“What?”

“I think I’m gonna go out tomorrow and buy some lottery tickets.”

**_What really happened…_ **

Jen stood up and hugged Drake and Hana goodbye. She headed out into the hallway to say goodnight to Maxwell, but he’d already gone. Strange. Had she said something to upset him? Or was he dwelling on his past demons?

She gazed at the stairwell up in the direction of the suite where Rick was staying. Where he’d asked her to meet him at the end of the night. But it was probably too late now. She would see Rick soon enough. There was someone not so far away she’d much rather meet up with now.

She sighed, asking herself a question. Truth or Dare?

Truth. If she was honest with herself, why did she think Maxwell had gone to bed without saying goodnight?

Because he felt uneasy with her. She’d been the wrong side of flirtatious this evening. She cringed as she heard her earlier comments echoing around her head. _I’ll have Sex on the Beach with you, Maxwell. Of course I’d want to be with you._ She’d overstepped the mark, and she’d scared him off. Maxwell was not interested, and she had to move on to face the fact that he needed her and Rick to work out, rather than indulge the pointless wasted feelings bubbling around her brain.

It was time to call it a night. She sighed, and headed to her room, glancing back down the hall before she went into it. She knew that she had to focus on the destination, not the journey.


	5. A great Queen

“Ready to get back in there?” he said, turning back to her.

“I’d rather stay out here with you. I could stay out here with you all night,” was her reply.

It was amazing to hear her say these words, but he knew he couldn’t act upon them. “Nah. You’ll miss the coronation if you stay out here with me.”

“Maybe you’re worth it,” she purred.

He could feel the frustration gnawing away inside him, but he had to keep this conversation light. She was only having a bit of fun with him. She couldn’t know how he felt. “You’ve always been so nice to me. I know I can be as annoying as hell sometimes.”

“Not to me.”

**_What nearly happened…._ **

“I don’t get why you feel that way,” he sighed. “Most people can only tolerate me in really small doses.”

She didn’t respond, and he turned to look at her, seeing a disheartened expression on her face.

“I’m not most people,” she said eventually, looking at the floor. “I’m just… going to miss you so much, Maxwell. Whatever happens tonight…”

“Hey, like I said earlier, we’ll still be friends, yeah?”

When she looked up, she had a single tear in her eye.

“Jen? What is it?”

She exhaled a shaky sigh, and shook her head. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Try me.”

She laughed, but she did not sound happy. “Okay. Here’s the thing. You brought me here because you needed a break. And at the time, it worked well for us both. It was perfect. I wanted to see where things might go with Rick, and have the chance of a new life. And.. I love my new life. But… it’s not because of Rick.”

She was staring beyond and back into the ballroom as she spoke. He watched as her posture visibly relaxed after she stopped speaking. That had obviously been a weight off her chest. But, thinking about it, it didn’t come as a shock to him. He waited for her to continue.

“And the more I think about it, the more certain I am as to what it is I love about being here.” She turned to face him. “Or, _who_.”

She needed to know he didn’t condemn her for how she felt. “It’s okay, Jen. I know you and Drake have been getting close recently. And I’m not going to…”

He was met by a look of confusion, and she interrupted him. “This has _nothing_ to do with Drake.”

Now he was the confused one. “But..”

She smiled softly. “You might want to look a little closer to home.” She blushed, and looked down at her feet again.

 _Oh god. Oh god. Oh god._ He felt a rush of euphoria washing over him at the revelation. “But.. what.. when.. why… _how…?_ ”

She giggled. “That’s a lot of questions.”

It wasn’t any really, as he didn’t have the ability to form them right now, but where words were failing him, hopefully his expression was asking her what he needed to know. He felt his heart pounding.

“What I’m saying is that.. I have feelings for you. When did they start? Probably back in Lythikos, maybe even earlier. Why? Good question. But I’ve never met anyone else like you. You make me smile..” She was smiling widely. “You keep me going. I could look at you for hours. I just want to be with you, whenever I can. Like now. How? That’s the question I’m not sure I can answer. But telling you the answers to the rest is a start, I guess.”

He had no idea how he was going to respond to this, and covered his face with his hands.

“But, forget all that. Because this isn’t about me. This is about everyone. This is about Rick, and House Beaumont, and Cordonia. And although I will miss you like crazy, I will say yes to Rick if he asks me to marry him tonight. Because I know how important it is to you that I do.”

He grabbed her arm. “Jen, I’m begging you. Don’t go through with it if it’s not what you want. I just want you to be happy.”

Her eyes went wide. “I just want _you_ to be happy. Don’t you see? I know you don’t return my feelings, so….”

He fell towards her as easily as if it were one of his daydreams, and placed his lips carefully and gently on hers. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he felt their heartbeats combine as her lips parted to let him kiss her fully. This was just… _whoa._

He pulled away, looking down at her, her sparkling green eyes as large as he had ever seen them. She was waiting for him to say something now.

And the words fell out, as if he’d written them in a dream.

“So what you don’t know is… I fell for you hard the moment I laid eyes on you. I was all for getting your number until I realised how much Rick liked you - at which point I resigned myself to not having a chance. You seemed so keen on him.. and… Jen, he _loves_ you. I had the idea, and suddenly how I felt about you didn’t come into it anymore.. I just didn’t build in the risk that I might end up falling….” He considered the wisdom of using the L-word. “…for you like I have.”

Her smile had faded. “But, like I said. I have to do this. For you. And.. you know I do.”

He nodded, his heart breaking. He knew she was right. “I know.”

“So, we have to get back in there, don’t we?”

“We do.”

“Just..” She lunged towards him again, and they kissed passionately and desperately against the stairrail they’d playfully slid down together just ten minutes ago, when he’d already thought his heart couldn’t take any more pain. How wrong he’d been. This was it. This had to be it. He savoured every millisecond of the kiss, how her lips felt, how she tasted, the sweetness of her perfume against his neck, the little sigh that escaped as they parted again.

“Ahem.”

The voice from behind them was instantly recognisable, and they both turned in unison to face Madeleine. _Oh no._

“How cosy. Lady Jen, I can only assume this nauseating display of affection for Lord Maxwell means that you have withdrawn from contention for Prince Rick’s hand?”

There was panic on Jen’s face. “Wait, this is _not_ what it looks like…”

“Of course. You just tripped and fell onto his mouth. I understand. And I’m sure Prince Rick will too, when I tell him. Such a shame. We all thought you were going to make such a great Queen. Please excuse me, Lady Jen. Lord Maxwell.” She sniggered as she turned away from them, and walked with purpose towards the ballroom.

“What do we do now?” Jen whispered to him, her expression fearful.

He put his arms around her protectively. “Jen, I have no idea.”

**_What really happened…._ **

He could feel the frustration gnawing away inside him, but he had to keep this conversation light. She was only having a bit of fun with him. She couldn’t know how he felt. “You’ve always been so nice to me. I know I can be as annoying as hell sometimes.”

“Not to me.”

“You’re a good person Jen,” he said, seriously. “You’re going to make a great Queen.” He knew it, he had brought her here for that reason, and that was the problem.

“Thanks, Maxwell,” she said, and he could see the expression on her face change.

“Ah, just calling it like I see it. Now come on, before Bertrand finds us and tells us we’re slacking on our social appearances.”

He took her hand and placed it on his arm, then led her back into the ballroom, his heart still beating frantically. He had not expected any of that. He’d hoped to get some closure from this conversation, but that was definitely not how it had played out.


	6. The end of the fairytale

Jen was sitting in the departure lounge of the Cordonian airport, accompanied by two palace guards, awaiting an early morning flight which would connect back to New York. She heard the bing bong of the tannoy. _Now boarding Economy class for passengers of flight PB205 to Amsterdam._

“That’s me,” she sighed, standing up and grabbing the bag she’d packed under the watchful eyes of the palace guards a few hours ago. She’d not seen anyone other than Bastien and the Royal Guards since she’d been dragged from the ballroom. She’d wanted to find Maxwell; and Bertrand, Drake and Hana, but the guards had isolated her from everyone.

Thoughts of the evening’s events trailed through her mind, mixing up and making her feel quite unwell. Hana’s admission of her feelings for her; followed by Drake’s, neither of whose she could return, and she couldn’t tell either of them the real reason why. Olivia’s departure; clearly the same force wanted them both out of the running, but had more respect for Olivia than for Jen, giving Olivia a second warning. Rick’s clear desire to choose her as his queen up until the moment he had to make his decision; did it show a weakness in him that he had let these lies affect his judgement? Shouldn’t he have the power to put all this on hold until the truth came out?

And Maxwell. She was reliving their stolen moments on the staircase and wishing she’d said more to him. He’d really started to open up to her; she should have done the same. He was her one constant through all this. He’d always been at her side, always supporting her, always making her smile, clearly oblivious to the fact that she was falling for him. Or, if he had realised, choosing to ignore the fact. She’d wanted Rick to choose her obviously. She did like the idea of becoming Rick’s queen. But more than that, the last thing she’d wanted to do was let Maxwell down. Was that messed up?

Well, now she’d let everyone down. And everything was messed up. It just proved she wasn’t meant to be here. Maxwell had been wrong to bring her here after all. And Drake was right. This place broke people.

“Goodbye, Cordonia,” she sighed. Goodbye, Rick. Goodbye, Maxwell. If only Maxwell could be here now. Out of everyone, he was the one she’d thought would be most likely to come to her rescue, if he could. And he was the one person who she wanted to see right now. Even if it was the last time she ever saw him, just to say goodbye.

The guards watched her as she slung her bag over her shoulder, digging into her pocket for her passport and boarding pass.

She heard a call, which at first she thought she’d imagined. “Wait! Jen!!”

She turned. “Maxwell?”

She had never been so pleased to see him, as he ran in her direction, with Bertrand behind him.

“Maxwell! Bertrand..” she called, watching as the guards intercepted them.

“Hey!” Maxwell shouted.

“You will keep your hands to yourself!” stormed Bertrand. “I am the _Duke of Ramsford_!”

She giggled, as she watched the two guards back down.

“That’s better,” Bertrand went on. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have business to conduct.”

The two guards looked at each other.

Bertrand was livid. “Or will House Beaumont have to demand recompense for yet another slight?”

The guards shook their heads and moved aside.

Maxwell rushed over to her. “Jen.”

She couldn’t help but pull him into a hug, and he held her tightly for a few seconds. She breathed deeply, in and out, feeling safe and happy.

**_What nearly happened…._ **

Eventually, she looked up at him. “Did you come to say goodbye?” She decided in that moment that there was only one way she was going to say goodbye to him, and she didn’t care if Bertrand was watching.

Before he could respond, she closed her eyes, put her hands up to his face, and pulled him into a kiss - that long desired, forbidden kiss that she’d fantasised about on an hourly basis over the last month or two – and although it was shorter than she’d hoped, it lived up to her dreams.

But now she had to open her eyes.

She did, and found his in front of hers, blue and wide, searching for an explanation. No words were said by either of them, but the silence was soon broken.

“MAXWELL PERCIVAL BEAUMONT! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?”

They both turned in horror to look at Bertrand, his eyebrows poised in full fury.

“Oops,” Jen said, looking up at the ceiling. Perhaps this hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

“I… uh…” Maxwell was clearly lost for words. And she could understand that, after what she’d just done.

“How long has this been going on?”

“Nothing! There’s nothing going on…”

Jen strode towards Bertrand, fired up. It was high time she addressed Bertrand’s attitude to his brother. “Look, I don’t know what you think you just saw, but this is on me, not Maxwell. Why does he always get the blame?”

“Everything he touches goes wrong, Lady Jen. And you have just proved my point.”

She frowned. “What exactly are you suggesting?”

“I’ve known for a while he’d been fawning over you. I warned him it was pathetic. I thought you had higher standards, but clearly I was mist…”

She’d had enough, and she slapped Bertrand around the face. He recoiled backwards, and his face first paled with shock, then reddened further with anger, but he waited for her to speak.

“I can’t believe you can talk about your own brother like that. You’re all he’s got, you know. He _loves_ you, and he’d do _anything_ for you. And I don’t know if what you’re saying about how he feels about me is true. But if it is, then let me tell you that nothing has happened between us. Nothing except what you just saw with your own eyes. He has never hidden anything from you. And do you know why? Because he would be willing to put his feelings to one side. To please you, to achieve what you wanted. What he thought I wanted. Hell, what _I_ thought I wanted. But I don’t want it anymore. And I know what I want now.” She turned to him, desperately. “But Maxwell… I don’t know what _you_ want.”

His face was troubled, as they both turned to look at him. “Uh.. I wanted to say, we were going to help you fight back, because we know you were framed, and we want to help you prove it.. so you can… yeaaaah.”

Bertrand huffed. “Under the circumstances, I think it would be better all-round if you got on that plane.” He turned and stomped off. “Come, Maxwell. We’re leaving.”

She gazed desperately at him; his nervous face was still frozen in shock.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice reduced to a whimper.

He took a few tentative steps towards her, looking contemplative.

“I’m not,” he admitted, a grin gradually creeping up his lips. The next thing she knew, he had swept her into his arms and, this time, their kiss wasn’t so brief. Sure, it was the end of the fairytale for Jen. But it was the ending, the goodbye, she’d needed.

Afterwards, as she gazed sadly at him, he reached into his pocket and produced his passport. “Do you think there’s room on there for one more?”

“What… how come you’ve got that with you?”

He smiled softly. “I’ve actually had it with me since we came back from New York. Forgot to put it away when we were back home. Figured if we missed you I would be getting on a plane to find you and bring you back… but….”

She gazed at him. “You’d do that for me?”

“Not only that, I’d get on that plane with you and never look back, if you’d have me,” he suggested.

She was too shocked to speak.

The tannoy binged. “ _Final call for economy class passengers of flight PB205 to Amsterdam.. final call..”_

He laughed nervously, and ran his fingers through his hair. “Hey, this is funny. It’s like the opposite of last time when I tried to persuade you to come to Cordonia with me.”

“Oh my god, you’re serious, aren’t you?”

He laughed. “I know. It doesn’t happen very often, does it?”

She jumped up and down on the spot, and he held his arms out to join in with her joyful reaction.

“Best go then, or we’ll miss the plane!” She grabbed him by the hand, and they ran together towards the boarding desk.

“I guess this isn’t the end of the fairytale after all,” she commented as they strolled through the gate together.

“Well, you didn’t get to marry a Prince..”

“Who needs a Prince when you can have a Lord?”

**_What really happened…_ **

Eventually, she looked up at him. “Did you come to say goodbye?” She decided in that moment that there was only one way she was going to say goodbye to him, and she didn’t care if Bertrand was watching.

“No!” he said, pulling away abruptly before she got the chance to implement her plan. “We’ve come here to help you! I mean, not in the sense that we have any answers, but we are here for you. We still believe in you, Jen!”

“Really? Both of you?” She looked at Bertrand, whose expression was as stern and unfriendly as ever.

“Just tell me,” Bertrand demanded. “Is it true? That you’ve been carrying on a romantic relationship with Tariq?”

Maxwell approached his brother angrily. “Of course it’s not true! This isn’t Jen’s fault!”

“Shush, I want to hear it from her,” Bertrand snarled.

“Of course it’s not true,” she echoed. “Remember the note? Someone had it in for me. The whole thing with Tariq was a setup. Someone wanted both me and Olivia out of the running. And they got what they wanted.”

Bertrand paced up and down. “Then, I have no criticism of how you handled yourself.”

“So, why are you here?” Jen asked, frustrated with Bertrand and his attitude.

“Well,” said Maxwell, breezily. “We’re here to take you back! This isn’t the end of the fairytale for you, Jen. We’re going to make sure you get that happily ever after, aren’t we, Bertrand?”

“Indeed,” Bertrand stated, with a suspicious look in Jen’s direction. Jen sighed.


	7. Quick, quick, glide

“I think you’ve finally mastered the Cordonian Waltz,” he said softly to her, as they pulled apart for the eighth time that afternoon. “Well done.”

“Well, I have got a master tutor,” she said with a smile. “I know you’d rather be dancing to a different beat.. I appreciate this, Maxwell.”

“Ah, it’s nothing,” he said, dismissively. There was no-one he’d rather be dancing with, actually. But she couldn’t know that. “Hey, Bertrand’s coming back, want to show him the quickstep I taught you?”

“Why not?” she breezed, and went to change the track on the CD player in the corner of the ballroom. She made her way back to him, and they started to dance.

“That’s it, quick quick glide.. quick quick glide..”

She was finding this a little more difficult, but he was confident she’d get there with a little more practice.

“Rick’s going to be so impressed next time you dance with him,” he said to her.

“As if I’ll ever get to dance with him again,” she lamented. “Now he’s engaged to _Madeleine.._ ”

“You will,” he promised her.

“I wish I knew why he’d chosen her,” she said, sadly.

He had to have been forced into it, the safe option. Maxwell knew exactly how Rick felt for Jen. He felt sure that Rick would have chosen differently had Jen still been in the running at that point. But he hadn’t been able to get in touch with Rick since that night. Obviously, he’d been busy in his first few days as King. Maxwell and Bertrand had decided not to let Rick know that Jen was with them. Hopefully, that way, she’d make quite the impact when she re-entered court for the engagement tour.

“You’ll get your chance to ask him for yourself soon,” he said. “Now, cheer up. This is a happy dance.”

**_What nearly happened…_ **

As the dance came to an end, Maxwell looked over at a watching Bertrand. “Well, she’s mastered the Cordonian Waltz, but her quickstep’s a bit.. well..”

“Maxwell, you are too quick to criticise. From here, Lady Jen’s quickstep appears.. adequate.”

Well, he had a nerve, but Maxwell wasn’t going to argue. “What do you say, Jen? Seems you’ve passed quickstep class with flying colours!”

“Alright!” She gave him a high-five. “So, what’s next?”

They both looked to Bertrand.

“I have some House Beaumont business to attend to this evening,” Bertrand stated. “Why don’t you two have an evening off to recharge.”

Excitement rushed through Maxwell’s veins. “Can we go out…”

“No,” Bertrand scowled. “You know Lady Jen’s presence must not be advertised. Even in Ramsford, people will talk, and the grapevine will do its worst. You need to stay here at the manor.”

He sighed, as Bertrand walked away. He glanced at Jen, who clearly had something she wanted to say once Bertrand was out of earshot.

“Aw, hell no,” she eventually exclaimed. “I’ve been cooped up in here long enough. We’re going out. He just doesn’t need to find out.”

Maxwell grinned. “Then lead the way!”

***

A few hours later, they were dancing together in what could only be described as Ramsford’s “hottest club”. To be fair, it was the only club. And, it wasn’t really a club. More like a wine bar. But, it generally scratched his party itch when he felt like cutting loose locally. It was providing its usual selection of R&B grooves which they were having lots of fun with. So. Much. Fun.

Eventually, Jen tapped him on the shoulder. “Think it’s your round, Your Lordship.”

He nodded. “Another strawberry daiquiri?”

She licked her lips. “Mmm, yes please. I’m gonna sit down.” She gestured to a side booth.

“Okay. Coming right up.”

He sauntered over to the bar, glancing around at the clientele; he hadn’t paid too much attention to who else was here, as his attention had been fully absorbed. He spotted a group of girls that he often saw in here, and shot them a wave and a smile. He had to be careful here, because he’d got to know one of those girls _rather_ well one night, a couple of years ago now. Hopefully she wouldn’t be in the market for dropping him in it (one way or another) tonight.

He reached the bar and was relieved to see the bar’s owner emerge from the back room to work the bar.

“Ah, if it isn’t the Lord of the Manor… “ He greeted him with a fist bump. “Not seen you in here for a while.”

“I’ve been away in the capital,” he explained. “Social season, you know?”

“Ah, yeah. Good to see you back. What can I get you?”

“Two strawberry daiquiris, if you would.”

The bartender started to prepare the cocktails. “Any royalty with you tonight?”

“No. Well…” He turned to check she was still there; she had gone to sit in the booth she’d indicated. “ _Future_ royalty.”

“Really?” The bartender cast a glimpse in the direction he was looking. “Ah. I thought I recognised your friend. She’s the American, isn’t she?”

“Yep. Hey, I can rely on your discretion, yeah?”

“Of course. I want you to keep coming here, don’t I?”

“Yeah. Well nobody can know we’re here. Especially that Jen’s here. Bertrand would have me hung for sneaking her out tonight.”

The bartender laughed. “You know I’m not gonna snitch on you to the Duke. Never see him anyway.” He was still studying Jen. “You said future royalty?”

“Yeah. She’s gonna be Queen. It’s just a question of time.”

“I thought the Prince chose that Fydelian bird in the end.”

Maxwell sighed. “It’s complicated. But Rick loves Jen.” He laughed. “And you know me. I’m a romantic at heart. Love will conquer all in the end.”

“Could’ve fooled me, Maxwell,” the bartender said, passing him the cocktails. “Watching you two just then… I get the feeling she’s into you.”

He panicked. “Oh no. We’re just friends. Like, _best_ friends. Like, brother and sister.”

The bartender raised his eyebrows. “I’ve seen it all in here, my friend. She’s into you.”

“No. Well.” He sighed in defeat. “I might be… into her…. secretly… but she’s off limits. Like I said, she’s gonna be Rick’s queen.” He handed the bartender the money for the drinks.

A sinister smile formed on the bartender’s face. “Well, I’d say tonight, she’s all yours.”

He shook his head, and took the drinks. “Laters.”

He wandered back to where she was sitting, her legs crossed sultrily, her gentle smile fixed on him as he approached.

“Ohhh.. thanks Maxwell.” She took her drink and supped it quickly through the straw. “Mmm.”

He watched, entranced, pondering on what the bartender had said. Maybe he was just having a bit of fun at Maxwell’s expense. There was no way…

Just then, a recognisable beat began to vibrate through the bar, and Jen’s eyes sparkled with recognition. “Ooh, we need to dance to this one!” Leaving her drink on the table, she took his hand and led him back to the dancefloor.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he shouted to her over the loud music.

“We should practice that quick step,” she suggested, and held out her arms. Obediently, he got into position as they used the rhythm to revisit their training from earlier.

“Can’t see them playing this at the next palace ball,” he mused.

“Their loss,” she giggled, as they worked their way around the floor. _Quick, quick, glide.. quick, quick, glide.._ He had to do his best to pretend they were in the ballroom, and the music was formal, and Bertrand was watching.. because this was _hot._

The song faded out and merged into another recent hit, this one a little slower and more seductive. She pulled away and began her own dance a little way away from him, winding up and down in a way he’d never seen her move before. She was wearing that green dress that she’d last worn on Drake’s birthday, and the thing about it was that it revealed just a hint of what was underneath; just enough to tease him. He stood mesmerised for a few seconds.

“Hey,” she shouted. “Is this a dance off, or what?”

“Oh, it’s on..”

To distract himself he launched into some breakdancing moves, not really concerned about the reaction of the other customers in the bar, just needing something to focus on that wasn’t how much he wanted to peel that dress off her body. He was in auto-pilot, and it was a few minutes before she caught him on his way back up.

“Whoa, check those moves, Beaumont…”

She drew his body playfully into hers, lifting a leg and draping it around him. Now nothing could distract him, and he closed his eyes in concentration.

She wasn’t deterred, and ran her arms as far along his back as she could easily reach, and he shivered at the way it made him feel. She giggled, and moved them back to his waist, and slightly below so that they were resting on his butt. This was new.

In response, he let his arms wander a little south of her waist, and as she writhed up and down, his hands rested on the top of her thigh where her dress ended. She sighed, and turned so she had her back to him, his hands now on the front of her thighs, hers now behind her back and between them. _No hiding what this is doing to you now, Maxwell._

She leant back to whisper into his ear, sending electric shocks through his system with every murmured word. “What do you say we head back to yours and dance the rest of the night away together, partner?”

Maxwell wasn’t going to argue. “I’m down for that.”

**_What really happened…_ **

As the dance came to an end, Maxwell looked over at a watching Bertrand. “Well, she’s mastered the Cordonian Waltz, but her quickstep’s a bit.. well..”

“ _Slow_ ,” commented Bertrand.

Jen rolled her eyes.

“I have some House Beaumont business to attend to this evening,” Bertrand stated. “Why don’t you two continue to work on perfecting Lady Jen’s dance skills. I will be back to check on you regularly.” With that, Bertrand headed off in the direction of the study.

“Let’s try that one again from the top!” Maxwell said, animatedly, spinning Jen around until the smile was back on her face.

“Okay! Quick, quick, glide.. quick, quick, glide..”

“Don’t worry, Jen,” he said softly to her as they danced. “Things will work out. We’ll sort this mess out. I promise you.”

She kept smiling. “Let’s just forget all that and have some fun.”

Maxwell wasn’t going to argue. “I’m down for that.”


	8. More than one way out

Jen had just returned to her room, and was sitting on her bed reflecting on the evening. Seeing Rick had affected her more than she had thought it would. She’d had a lot of time to think over the last three weeks, and she’d spent a lot of time thinking about the last real one to one time she and Rick had spent together, their date at Beaumont Manor, and the fact that he was obviously smitten with her at that time. What did he think of the smear against her? She wanted him to know she had done no wrong, she needed to tell him.

She’d never needed to tell Maxwell of course, he’d just known the truth, but Maxwell was different. She was so grateful to him for tonight. He’d never once left her side. She smiled to herself, recalling their conversation with Adelaide. Maybe she shouldn’t have implied what she had. But, it had been a bit of fun, in what had been anything but a fun evening. Besides, what harm had it done? She knew by now he didn’t think of her like that. He’d made that very clear over the last few weeks. She’d given him plenty of opportunities while she’d been staying with him, but every time she’d hinted that she might have feelings for someone other than Rick, he’d reminded her how important it was that she kept herself free until her name was cleared, just in case the opportunity to unseat Madeleine was still there. She was coming to accept it now, and it had refocused her on her initial goal.

Just as she was thinking about getting ready for bed, there was a knock at her door. She knew it was Maxwell’s knock, and jumped up to let him in.

She was surprised and thrilled to see he was holding a bouquet of red roses. “What’s all this?” She beamed at him. This was.. _nice_.

“Special delivery!” he grinned. “Housekeeping were bringing it over for your room. I said I was coming your way. After all, I am next door.”

“Oh,” she said, slightly deflated, and frustrated with herself for interpreting the situation how she had. She buried her nose in the flowers to smell them, and spotted a piece of paper wrapped around one of the stems. “Hey, what’s this note?”

She read the note. _I wouldn’t blame you if you’re furious with me, but please meet me so I can at least explain. I’ll be on the balcony outside my room in twenty minutes._

She showed it to Maxwell.

“That’s Rick’s handwriting!” he confirmed.

“I’ve got to go,” she told him.

Unusually for Maxwell, he seemed reluctant to let her go. “But the hallway’s crowded with staff and nobles. Madeleine’s basically put you in the corner of the estate _furthest_ from Rick. He must not have known.”

She eyed the window at the side of her room. “There’s more than one way out of here.”

“No way, that’s really dangerous!” Maxwell warned her. but she could tell from his tone of voice that he was impressed with her dedication to their cause. “If you fall you could really hurt yourself.”

“But I can just imagine Rick waiting for me on that balcony..” she said, looking at him with wide eyes.

“Just, don’t,” he said, with a smile and a wink. “Anyway, I’ll see you bright and early.”

“Night, Maxwell,” she sighed, as he left her room.

She put the flowers down, and looked at them thoughtfully for a few minutes.

**_What nearly happened…_ **

The evening’s events whizzed through her mind again, every little detail that had made her feel safe and happy.

 _Ohmygod_ , she thought to herself _. I’m an idiot_.

She wandered in the direction of the window. Taking a deep breath, she hoisted herself out of it. She looked to her left, to gauge how far it was to the next window. Not far. She managed to climb across and grab hold of the window ledge, and pulled herself upwards to perch on the ledge. She peeked inside, and tapped on the window.

The window was opened almost immediately. “Jen? What the…”

“Hey,” she said, not knowing what else to say.

He reached out to her and pulled her into the room, her dress catching on the window frame and tearing a little on the way in. “Oops…”

She shrugged. “Well, I have worn this blue ballgown a few times now.”

Maxwell laughed. “So you decided you couldn’t make it all the way to Rick’s balcony after all. Good job I was there to save the day, huh?”

“My hero,” she agreed. “But actually, I reached my intended destination just fine, thank you. I came to see you.”

He looked at her incredulously. “You know you could’ve just knocked on the door, right?”

“I could’ve,” she said, watching his expression carefully. “But, what would that have proved? I got those flowers from Rick, and you know I thought about scaling the wall to get to him..”

“Yes, because it wouldn’t be safe for you to go through the house… Madeleine would know…”

“But it made me think. There’s only one person I’d be willing to climb out of my window for. And I needed to say thank you to that person, and let them know how important they are to me.”

He looked around nervously, and she grabbed his hands, and saw shock on his face.

“You’ve made me feel like a princess tonight. You never left my side. You didn’t have to do that. Somehow you picked up on the fact that I needed you.. I _wanted_ you to stay close. And when I saw you with those flowers… I thought… maybe….”

His expression grew distant and dreamy just for a moment, then he looked back at her. “Jen, you know I’d do anything for you. You’re my best friend… my… favourite person.”

“Oh… that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” She drew him into a hug. “Know what? You’re mine as well.”

“But I don’t think this is the right time for you to be thinking too hard about anything. You’ve had a massive upset, and seeing Rick again.. I get that must have been hard for you.”

She pulled away. “But it wasn’t. Not really. Not when I had you by my side. And these last few weeks have taught me a few things. I’ve been so happy and content staying with you and Bertrand. Everything that happened at the end of the social season was so stressful. But maybe it all happened for a good reason…”

“It did,” he assured her. “Because we’re going to fight this thing, remember? We’re going to show Rick, and the King and Queen, and all the nobles, and the whole of Cordonia what a perfect Queen you’re gonna make. We’re going to clear your name, Jen. I promise you.”

“I believe you,” she said, smiling sadly at him. Sometimes in her most desperate moments she’d wondered if he was just in this for the benefit of House Beaumont, but she was confident by now that wasn’t the case. However, it was probably time to accept that he would never feel the same way about her as she did about him.

“You should get back to your room before Bertrand rocks up,” he said with a sigh.

She laughed, and headed back towards the window.

“Not that way!!” He laughed too, and ran to stop her, putting his arms around her gently as he caught up with her. She turned to face him, and couldn’t mask her contentment at being in his arms, even though she knew he was about to let her go.

And that was when he kissed her.

**_What really happened…_ **

Right, she thought to herself. I need to know.

She wandered in the direction of the window. Taking a deep breath, she hoisted herself out of it. Taking care not to pass by any other windows, she climbed up to a nearby ledge on the side of the building and edged her way around, until she arrived above the balcony. She had to speak to Rick. He had to know she was innocent, and what she thought of how he had treated her since the Coronation.

Dropping onto the far side of the balcony, she could see him staring off into the distance. When he heard her, he turned.

“Jen!” He rushed to her, and swept her into his arms. She immediately pushed him away.

“We need to talk,” she said, surprised at how angry she felt. “You’re an engaged man.”


	9. The moment

Maxwell raised his voice so the nearby press could overhear. “Lady Jen, there’s.. something I need to say to you.”

She looked at Maxwell, no acting required on her part to make this look genuine. Nearby paparazzi turned their heads towards the two of them.

He went on. “Tonight, I discovered something about myself. Something I suppose I’ve known was true for a long time, but.. I couldn’t admit it to myself until now. There was always something missing, some piece of me that wasn’t there. But then.. then something unbelievable happened. Tonight, I realised what has been missing.”

Jen looked on adoringly as Maxwell got down on one knee in front of her. A crowd of paparazzi began to form around them.

“And it’s like my eyes are opening for the first time!” he said, slightly overdramatically.

“I don’t understand..” she said, trying hard not to laugh.

“Jen, now that _I_ know, I need the world to know.”

Jen glanced around, spotted the photographer in the crowd, and winked at Maxwell. “Maxwell, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that.. I love..”

He reached into his pocket. The crowd gasped, and cameras flashed. And Jen just wished this was real.

But then, instead of a ring-box, he pulled out a spoon. “I love gelato!” With that he grabbed a bowl from the platter of a nearby server and ate a spoonful, eyelids fluttering in delight. “Sho derishush.”

“What?” Jen heard Ana de Luca say in confusion.

He continued to tuck in. “How have ah lived wivout you for sho lon?”

Jen just watched him, proudly. “I’ve never seen a love so pure.”

The paparazzi groaned in disappointment as they began to disperse.

“I guess we got what we deserved for speculating about those two,” Jen heard Donnie Brine say.

Maxwell dropped his bowl of ice cream. “Let’s get that photographer!”

Jen slipped through the crowd to follow the woman, but she looked back and started running.

“After her!” Jen called to Maxwell.

The two of them ran after the photographer. She tripped up a hostess on her way out the door, blocking their path.

Jen was able to leap gracefully over the fallen hostess, gaining speed as she pushed off the ground. “I’m coming for you!”

She heard Maxwell call behind her. “Jen, you’re as nimble as a gazelle!”

“Uh, thanks?” she called back, but didn’t stop. She followed the photographer into the moonlit streets of Italy. The photographer bounded across the street as passing cars honked. One drove right in front of Jen.

“JEN!!” she heard Maxwell shriek behind her, as she rolled over the hood of the car, its movement propelling her even further. “Jen.. are you okay?”

She was okay, she knew he had her back. “I’m gaining on her!” she called back.

“Whoa! Nice moves, Jen!” He was still a little way behind her.

Up ahead, the photographer ducked into an alleyway and out of sight.

“Hey! You’re not getting away that easily,” Maxwell shouted.

Jen turned into the alley right on the heels of the photographer. It was a dead end. “I’ve got you now.”

As the photographer realised her mistake, Maxwell arrived at the scene.

“Maxwell, I got her!” Jen said, grinning from ear to ear, adrenaline pumping. “I guess jogging with you paid off, after all.”

“I knew it would,” he said, looking at her intensely with those penetrating blue eyes, making her want to do something really rash.

**_What nearly happened…_ **

To hell with it.

She took a flurry of steps in his direction, her eyes fixed on his expression. It didn’t seem to waver, his eyes were still inviting her closer, and closer she got. She threw her arms around his neck, and his lips met hers in an electric kiss. His arms pulled her still closer, and she sighed at his touch as the kiss deepened. Everything in the world around them faded, she was semi aware of the warmth of the evening sun on his neck as she held on to him and the sound of the traffic nearby, but in that moment, there were only the two of them in the whole world.

Just then, she felt something brush past her. As their lips parted, she turned. “Hey…” The photographer had gone. She’d sneaked out of the passageway while Jen had been distracted. “Which way did she go? Did you see her? Maxwell?”

He looked back at her in confusion. “What.. she’s gone?”

“Ughhhh!” Jen cried out in frustration, looking past him in desperation. “You go that way, I’ll go that way…”

“So who’s gonna go that way?” He pointed to another street opposite.

Jen ran into the street, and scanned up and down for movement. Nothing. She turned to a worried looking Maxwell, and put her hands in his, looking sadly down at his feet. “We lost her, didn’t we?”

“God, Jen, I’m sorry… I don’t know what came over me there..”

“I think you’ll find it was my fault..” She looked up at him, wondering if her expression betrayed all the guilt she felt over what had just happened. This wasn’t the plan. She knew she shouldn’t have kissed him. What must he think of her?

“Well, I think we can agree that we’re equally to blame for letting the photographer slip through our fingers like that,” he said sadly, stretching his fingers out so that Jen’s slipped out of his hands.

She dropped her hands to her side, feeling as if she could cry. “Now we’ll never find her, and we’ll never find out who she was working for….”

“Hey, never say never.” His smile lit up her heart. “I never thought I’d get to kiss you. But, looks like I just did. I can die happy now.”

She laughed, feeling a funny feeling in her stomach. “Wanna do it again?”

“Is that even a question?”

She just beamed at him, and when their lips met again, everything felt better. Everything was… right.

**_What really happened…_ **

“Maxwell, I got her!” Jen said, grinning from ear to ear, adrenaline pumping. “I guess jogging with you paid off, after all.”

“I knew it would,” he said, looking at her intensely with those penetrating blue eyes, making her want to do something really rash.

And maybe if they had been alone, she would have done.

But they weren’t.

The photographer’s shoulders slumped as she turned around. “I was hoping to avoid this.”

He was still looking at her that way. “Alright, Jen. You want to be bad cop again, or should I?”

“ _Very_ intimidating,” the photographer commented.

Jen pulled herself together and approached the photographer. “Who are you?”

“Rosanna. Freelance photographer.”

“No last name?” she asked.

“Not for you,” frowned Rosanna.

Maxwell pointed at her. “Don’t play dumb with me.” He glanced at Jen. “I guess I’m the bad cop.”

“Who hired you to take those pictures of me and Tariq at Applewood Manor?” Jen asked.

Rosanna put her hands in the air. “Listen, you caught me, and I don’t want to get embroiled any further in whatever is going on here, so..”

“We want the truth!” Maxwell shouted.

“Settle down, I’m _trying_ to tell you the truth.” She looked at Jen. “I don’t know who hired me, I never met them.”

Jen suddenly felt disheartened. “And you didn’t think that was a little, I don’t know, shady?”

“It was a paid gig,” said Rosanna. “I don’t really have the luxury of caring where my paycheck comes from. Not all of us live in fancy palaces and have everything handed to us.”

Jen had a thought. “If you never met them, how did they pay you?”

“Bank transfer. We never met or spoke on the phone.”

“How did they contact you in the first place? Maxwell asked.

“By email,” Rosanna told him.

“Oh.” He looked disappointed.

“The paparazzi isn’t like the CIA, it’s not all cloak and dagger you know. What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know… something… cooler?”

“You have to know something..” Jen pleaded. “Do you still have the email address?”

“I have it, but I doubt it’ll help,” Rosanna said. “I sent a follow up to ask about any future jobs, but the message bounced. But, I do have a digital copy of the receipt from the bank transfer,” she said, reaching into her bag for her phone.

“Why do you have this?” Maxwell asked.

“Freelancers always hang on to their receipts. Anyway, you can have it. I want to wash my hands of all of this ASAP.”

She pulled out her phone and typed up a message. “What email address do you want this sent to?”

Jen looked at Maxwell, who suddenly looked embarrassed. “Uh.. thefullbeaumonty at.. You know what, I should just type it out myself.”

Jen giggled to herself. Rosanna sighed and handed Maxwell her phone. After tapping out an excessive number of keystrokes onto the screen, Maxwell passed the phone back.

Rosanna looked at the address he had provided. “Really?”

He sighed. “I made it when I was fourteen, okay?”

Jen felt her heart melt just a little bit more, as Rosanna pressed a few buttons on her phone. “There, it’s sent. Can I go now?”

“Don’t go too far,” threatened Maxwell. “The long arm of the law is.. long.”

Rosanna shouldered past Jen. “Good luck with that one.” With that, she disappeared into the night. Maxwell read the email which had just come through on his phone.

Jen crept up close. “Anything useful?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s go show it to Bertrand.”

“What can he do?” asked Jen, disappointed. She was hoping to spend some more time with him away from it all.

He looked at her. “Bertrand goes to the bank and talks to credit card companies all the time these days. Besides, if all else fails, maybe he can intimidate someone into telling us something! You’ve heard Bertrand’s Duke of Ramsford voice. He _always_ gets his way. ‘You dare dishonour the great House Beaumont? I’ll have you drawn and quartered like the swine you are!”’

She laughed. “Hah! You sound just like him!”

“It’s one of my few skills,” he said. Jen smiled at him. She wouldn’t mind getting to find out what the others were.

“Okay, let’s get the evidence back to the lab,” he said.

“Let’s roll, partner,” she said, beaming, as they started to walk in the direction of the train station, as they were to be staying on the royal train while in Italy. “So, if I’m good cop, and you’re bad cop, what does that make Bertrand?”

“Errr.. grumpy cop?”

“Totally.”

“That was some good detectin’ today, Jen,” he said.

“Thanks. All that running was tiring though,” she said, stretching out her arms. She was very tempted to bring an arm down and around him.

“It was. Time to get some rest,” he said.

She glanced across at him, adoringly, pleading with him silently. _Come on, Maxwell. We had a moment back there. You must have felt it too._

He looked back at her, and as she attempted to decide if she was brave enough to say something, his expression changed suddenly. “Oh, I almost forgot. Ding ding! You have a message!”

She looked at him in confusion. “Huh?”

“Since Rick can’t contact you in a way that wouldn’t leave a trail, he asked me to deliver a message. He said that if you wanted to see him, he’d be waiting for you down by the shore after we all leave the restaurant. Just down there.” He pointed down some stairs, just opposite the restaurant they’d just given chase from.

Back to reality. For half an hour or so it had been her and Maxwell against the world. But life wasn’t that simple. Rick wanted to see her. Maxwell wanted her to see Rick.

“Really? He’s just waiting for me down there?”

“Yep. And as your fellow house member, I say that you should go. And now that my messenger tasks are done, I’m out. I’ll head on back to the train. I’ll see you in the morning.” He rubbed her on the shoulder. “Night, Jen.”

“Night, Maxwell,” she sighed. There was no denying it anymore. She was going to have to do something about this situation. It was eating her up from the inside. Everything was… wrong.


	10. No more secrets?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is NSFW.

He looked up in surprise as he heard the tent door open. There was only one person who it could have been, but he was nonetheless surprised to see her. Pleasantly surprised.

“Who’s there? Is it ghosts?” he called, sitting up.

“It’s just me!” she said, closing the tent, and throwing down her sleeping bag. “How was ghosts your first guess?”

“It’s dark. That’s when the ghosts come out,” he said.

She sat down next to him, with a satisfied smirk. “And when shirts come off..”

“Oh..” He looked around for his shirt.

She giggled. “Relax Maxwell, it’s just me.”

He smiled back at her. “Prove you’re not a ghost impersonating Jen.”

“Well, I know you love dance offs..”

“Everyone knows that!” he said. “I’m sure that’s the _first_ thing a ghost would know about me.”

“You eat candy corn all year long..”

“That could be true of anyone,” he argued.

She shook her head. “It’s not.”

“I’m still not convinced, ghost,”

“Okay, how about this.. you care more about Bertrand’s opinion of you than you’d like to admit.”

She knew him too well. “Wow, that got real pretty fast. But I’m still not sure I believe you.”

At that she launched on him, tackling him to the ground in a hug.

He tensed up. “Whoa..”

She grinned at him. “Do I feel real enough for you?”

Oh, definitely. “I guess a ghost would’ve just passed through me, leaving the eerie chill of the dead..”

“Doesn’t explain why you’re still shivering,” she said with a sly smile.

“Am I?”

“Good thing you have me here to give you warmth,” she went on.

“It’s cold out here in these haunted woods,” he said, gazing at her, willing her to hug him again.

And, to his amazement, she did, and this time, he went with it.

“You’re right,” he said, dreamily. “This is nice.”

“Told ya,” she chirped.

“Alright, you’ve finally convinced me. You’re not a spooky ghost,” he said, as content as he could ever remember being.

She shuffled backwards, seemingly to see him properly. “What would you have done if I _had_ been a ghost?”

“I would’ve trapped you in an amulet and taken you to the nearest body of water for cleansing. Pretty standard stuff, really.”

“Well,” she said, “Since I’m here and there still _could_ be ghosts lurking all around, I guess it’d be safer if we stayed together tonight.”

He wasn’t going to argue. “Good thinking. We can take turns keeping watch. You wanna go first?”

“But the ghosts can’t get us if we’re together,” she said. “Let’s just stay here like this, and cuddle!”

“I… uhhh..”

“You know, like we did last time? At your place? Because that was nice. Or is ‘shirtless’ your advanced ghost fighting tactic?” She reached out to touch his tattoo.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, flustered. “Ghosts are terrified of the exposed body. It makes them uncomfortable.”

“So…” She looked at him with a strange expression that he didn’t really get.

“I’ll, uh, guard the entrance,” he said, edging towards the tent door. “I swear on House Beaumont, I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

“Thanks, Maxwell.” He heard her sigh, and move about. “The things I have do to check you’re okay.”

He turned to face her. “I’m okay..” More than okay, actually.

“I’ve just been worried, and I haven’t had the chance to talk to you properly since the whole Savannah thing broke.”

He sighed. It hadn’t been the best few days. Drake was being really different with him, and as for Bertrand, he didn’t really want to relive that conversation they’d had just before his brother had angrily returned to Cordonia to lick his wounds.

“Wanna talk about it?” she said, moving in to hug him.

“Not right now,” he admitted, letting her hold him. “I’m sorry, Jen.”

“You’re sorry?”

“That I couldn’t tell you.” He’d wanted desperately to confide in her about it, but how could he have done? He had seriously considered it at one point, when she’d come to his room and almost caught him in the act of wrapping up baby clothes to send across to Paris.

“Hey, as I keep telling Drake, it wasn’t your secret to tell.” She reached across to ruffle his hair. “Don’t keep beating yourself up. I think what you did was amazing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re such a good friend, Maxwell.” She rested her head on his chest.

He nodded, not sure why he would have expected her to say anything more. “So, no more secrets between us, yeah?” Apart from the obvious one, which wasn’t really a secret, more of a something he would tell her eventually when the subject came up. It was just hard to talk about. Oh, and also the fact that he was totally, utterly and irretrievably besotted with her. 

She paused. “Okay. No more secrets.” She leant up to face him, her face very close to his. Although she was in a separate sleeping bag, this was still a little too much for him. He had to change the subject.

**_What nearly happened…_ **

But as he was frantically trying to think of something to say, she spoke again.

“So I’m going to tell you mine.”

He laughed. “I’ve got it. You’re not really a waitress. You’re an Auvernese spy…”

She pulled away slightly and put a gentle finger to his lips to cut him off. “No, Maxwell. And anyway, if I was, I wouldn’t confess it to you now, would I?”

He thought about that for a moment. “Would you? Wait.. isn’t that a double bluff?”

“Listen. I have to say something. I’m driving myself mad.”

He couldn’t see her all that well in the dark, but hearing the change in her tone of voice, he sat up to search for her eyes. Once he found them, he saw such sadness in them.

“I can’t carry on like this anymore.”

“Like what?”

She edged around so she was sitting next to him. “It was what happened with Savannah that made me realise, I think. For a few minutes… I thought that _you_ were Bartie’s dad.”

“Me?” He pointed to himself with both hands. “ME?” He laughed, and her expression lightened a little. “Savannah’s only ever had eyes for Bertrand, and _everyone_ knows that. But, I guess I can see why you might have thought along those lines…” She looked sad again. “But what has that got to do with what you’re trying to say?”

She took a deep breath, and looked away, biting her lip. “Because those few minutes were the most awful, excruciating minutes I’ve lived since we met, Maxwell. And.. it made me realise.”

“Realise what?”

She sighed. “Ask yourself a question, Maxwell. Why do you think I’m here with you? I could have snuck into anyone’s tent tonight. I could have stayed in my own tent. But… this is where I want to be.”

_Oh._

Suddenly, he got what she meant. His heart started beating like crazy.

The realisation must have shown on his face, because she leant in to kiss him. He tensed up for a millisecond. _Go with it, Maxwell._ He relaxed, and edged his lips against hers, placing an arm around her back, feeling her whole body shaking, seemingly not from the cold. Her lips were sweet, and soft, and he couldn’t help but pull her closer, it was instinctive. It was hot.

She pulled away, and looked at him. “So, now you know. I want to be with you. And.. I’ve not said anything to you, because I’m scared as to how you’re going to respond. After everything we’ve been through together..” He saw a tear, and her words became sobs. “This is just messed up. So.. maybe, just kiss me again, so I can savour it before you throw me out of House Beaumont for falling in love with you..”

_No brainer._

He silenced her with another kiss, tasting her salty tears on her lips. Their tongues mingled messily for a moment before finding a rhythm, and she rolled onto him, kicking her legs out of her sleeping bag and straddling his, still in his own sleeping bag. She drew away and looked down at him tenderly, perhaps to check this was okay.

He thought about what to say, but nothing seemed right, and saying something meant thinking and he really didn’t want to think too much about this because he knew he would talk himself out of it. He also knew that this felt so, so right, right now. He ran his hands from her arms, down and over her waist (she was wearing those cute pyjamas with the shorts that always drove him wild) and under her pyjama shorts. She moaned quietly as his hands travelled to the places he’d always longed to touch.

After a few minutes of delicious exploration, she unzipped his sleeping bag from the side, and pulled it away so the two of them were laid on top of it. Finally, nothing was keeping them apart. He couldn’t help but let out a little growl as her legs made contact with his body, and she launched into another kiss to silence him, giggling as she did so.

Responsibility kicked in. “Wait.. I don’t have a…”

She smiled gently. “You know I’m on the pill. You’ve seen me take it often enough.”

“Oh.. okay… if you’re sure…”

It seemed that she was sure, as she’d now shed her remaining clothing and was in the process of removing his. And hey, he was sure too, although unsure if this was reality or a very vivid dream (admittedly he’d had a number along these lines in recent months).

She eased herself onto him and he lost his train of thought, his only focus now was Jen. He sat up slightly, and saw the giddiness in her eyes; she was trying hard to be quiet due to the proximity of the other tents, but her breathing pattern told him everything he needed to know. They continued for a few minutes, until her gasps quickened and he himself felt close – at that he twisted her around so that he was in control.

He whispered. “I like it better when I’m on top.” At that he intensified the rhythm of their horizontal dance.

“Oh.. Maxwell..” she murmured, her fingernails digging into his back. “So do I. So do I.”

***

They must have fallen asleep at some point, because he woke up with a jolt the next morning to find the most beautiful woman in the world curled up with him, their limbs and arms intertwined, her bare breasts against his chest. And the warm and fuzzy memory of what had happened between them a few hours before buzzed through him. _A-maz-ing._ Yes it had been a while, but there was no doubt in his mind, _that_ was topping the chart by a wide margin. Like, as wide as the ocean.

He couldn’t help but smile at first, relaxing into her embrace. Although, he soon realised that not all of his body was relaxed. _Oh no, that’s not the sort of wake-up call she’s used to from me. Chill._

She stirred, and opened her eyes to meet his, looking momentarily thrown, then smiling.

“Good morning, little blossom,” he said.

“Good morning to you,” she replied with a radiant beam. “Well, that makes an interesting change from a knock on the door.”

They exchanged a glance, and laughed. He rolled away from her, and turned to face her. She closed her eyes and dosed, rolling to rest her head on his chest.

And that was when the panic began to set in.

One, what had he done? Two, would things just get super awkward now? Three, would she regret it? Four, would _he_ regret it? Five, what if someone found out? Six, what if _Bertrand_ found out? Seven, would she think he’d taken advantage? Eight, if things worked out with Rick, how would he cope with losing her? Nine, what if she wanted to get serious now? And ten… what if he did, and she _didn’t_?

He had to get out of here.

But by now she was asleep again. He couldn’t leave her. He knew what it felt like to wake up alone after such an intimate moment. He watched her, sadly. As wonderful as this had been, it had not been well thought out. The shock of her confession had stunned him into submission. He needed to be stronger.

What seemed like an eternity passed before she stirred again.

“Hey.”

“Hey, sleepyhead. You back with me?”

“Mmhmm. Can I just say, that was… wow.”

“Yeah. It was wow.” He played with her black curly hair absentmindedly. “It was very wow.”

She sat up, pulling her sleeping bag over her chest. “I’m sensing a but coming.”

He sighed. “You know me too well.”

“You’re going to say it was a mistake, aren’t you?” She looked sadly at him.

“Actually, no, I’m not,” he said, sitting up beside her. “Because it wasn’t a mistake. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. No word of a lie.”

She blushed. “I’m not going to argue with that.”

“And.. I’m just so flattered.. I can’t believe that you would even _look at me_ like that, let alone… Yeah, _that_.”

A wry grin crept onto her lips, and she giggled.

“But.. and here’s the but you knew was coming. I just might need a little bit of time to think about what happens next. You know, where we go from here.”

She smiled, but he saw disappointment in her eyes. “That’s fine, Maxwell.”

“You trust me, right? I’m not trying to fob you off. I…” He took her by the hand. “I want you to know that I _definitely_ feel the same way.”

“I kinda got that impression,” she said, her eyes sparkling with the memory. “Especially after what you said.”

“I just… need to take this all in. You said you’d been thinking about this for a while. I just need to think about what this all means.”

“You didn’t need to think too much last night,” she stated.

“No, and I don’t want you to hate me for that.”

“I could never hate you for anything, Maxwell. You know what I said to you last night? It was true. I didn’t just say it because you said it first.”

 _Oh no._ He’d forgotten he’d said those three words in the heat of the moment. _Not good._

But then again.. the fact that she’d said them back…

He had to focus. He stretched, and found his jeans. “Anyway, I’m gonna see if anyone else is awake. We obviously need to try to be… subtle.”

She nodded in agreement, as he dressed. “Okay. Well, I’ll lie low for now.”

He put his shirt on, fumbling with the buttons. He was very conscious that she was watching, perhaps remembering details from a few short hours ago. “Right. Agent Breakdance, breaching the perimeter.”

He was rewarded with a giggle. “Good luck with your mission.”

He pointed finger guns at her, then carefully left the tent.

_Oh.. snap._

Rick was out of his tent, seemingly busying himself with tidying up the campsite. “Ah. Good morning Maxwell.”

 _Play it cool, Maxwell._ “Morning Rick… what a beeeeauuutiful morning it is..”

“Indeed,” said Rick, eyeing him with what he wasn’t sure was amusement or suspicion. “I trust you slept well?”

He coughed violently to hide his inevitable reaction.

“Maxwell? You alright?”

“Yes.. I’m fine… I just… didn’t sleep so well actually, as… I had a really bad cough.”

“Ah. Sorry to hear that. I’m guessing you’re on your way to wake Lady Jen?”

 _Shiiiiiiiiiit._ “Ah…… Yes! That’s right!”

“Mind if I join you?”

He pondered his best plan of action. “Not at all…”

They both wandered towards Jen’s empty tent, Maxwell desperately trying to concoct an action plan.

“Listen, Maxwell..” Rick stopped him as they reached the tent. “I don’t think I’ve taken the opportunity to thank you for everything you’ve done. I can’t put into words how appreciated it is.”

“Ah, there’s no need to..”

“No, there is. You have been there for Jen in the way I only wish I could.”

 _Ooooff._ Maxwell couldn’t look Rick in the eye anymore.

Rick went on. “My only hope is that everything works out and her name is cleared, and if it is, I will have you to thank more than anyone, Maxwell.”

“ _When_ , Rick,” he pointed out. “When, not if. We’re going to get to the bottom of it, I promise you that much. Jen’s got a lead to follow up today. We’re pretty sure we’re getting close to finding out who’s done this to her.”

“Good. Well, if I can help at all..”

“Of course. We’ll let you know.” Maxwell knocked on the tent door. “Goooood morning campers…”

The inevitable silence seemed to ring around the campsite.

“I think she’s still asleep, Rick.”

Rick nodded. “I say we let the lady sleep a little longer. How about we get a fire going? I’m sure Lady Hana will have brought some breakfast supplies.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that.”

“If you would excuse me just for a few minutes, I’ll go and collect some fresh logs from the woods.”

“Want me to come with?”

“No. That was a euphemism.”

Maxwell laughed awkwardly. “Okay, now I get it! Remember to bring some logs back though. Preferably not _those_ ones.”

Rick nodded and walked away into the woods.

Maxwell let out a sigh of relief, and felt the guilt stabbing at his heart like a dagger. If Rick knew what he.. _they_.. had just done… it would break his heart. This was messed up. He was messed up.

He had messed up.

He gazed back towards his tent, sadly. He knew he was going to have to sneak her out before anyone else emerged and before Rick got back. He knew he was going to have to tell her that it was never going to happen again. And he knew that telling her this was going to break his own heart. Taking a deep breath, he headed for the tent.

**_What really happened…_ **

She paused. “Okay. No more secrets.” She leant up to face him, her face very close to his. Although she was in a separate sleeping bag, this was still a little too much for him. He had to change the subject.

“How are things going with Rick?” he said, inadvertently interrupting her just as she started to say something.

She looked upset, and pulled away.

“What? Just curious, that’s all! I’m just surprised you’re in here with me, not in his tent with him! I heard he took you to the Eiffel Tower the other night? That must have been amazing!”

She turned her back to him. “Like I said, I just needed to check you were okay, Maxwell.”

She obviously didn’t want to talk about that either. Well, what she and Rick got up to wasn’t any of his business. “Okay. Well, I’m okay.” He reached across to touch her face. “Sweet dreams.”

“You too,” he heard her sniff.

He lay awake for a while, listening to her breathing change as she slept. Taking everything in of how it felt to fall asleep next to her. He knew it was never going to happen again.


	11. What really happened...

**_What really happened… no what ifs about this one._ **

She walked away from Adelaide and returned to where she’d left Maxwell, mostly hidden in the alcove in the corner of the room near the glass window, empty plate in front of him.

“Hey, Maxwell,” she said, sitting back down next to him. “Everything okay over here?”

He looked aggrieved. “I was trying to perform this cool trick I saw once where you toss a piece of bruschetta in the air without losing the toppings and then catch it in your mouth.. but I hit the Turkish ambassador in the face.. so I’ve sought asylum back in this alcove.”

She couldn’t help but laugh fondly. “Oh, Maxwell. Only you.”

“I hope you’re having a better night. How’d it go with Adelaide?”

“I think I managed to impress her!” she said, excited.

“Woo! Go Jen! Now all we have to do is.. find Tariq, clear your name, and stop Madeleine and Rick’s wedding..”

She edged closer to him. “Hey, Maxwell, there’s something that’s on my mind.”

“Shoot,”

She looked at him thoughtfully. “What if we don’t find Tariq?”

His face fell, and she saw that panicked face she’d seen a few times now, whenever she’d dropped subtle hints that she might not actually want to be Rick’s queen. “No, Jen, don’t think like that! We’re _so close_. You can’t give up now! I promised you we’d find him, didn’t I?”

“That’s not..” She was going to struggle to explain this to him. But she needed to know his thoughts on this, for her own sanity if nothing else. “Even if we find Tariq, you never know what’ll happen. So, what happens to you if I don’t become queen? I just want to know that you and Bertrand, and Savannah and little Bartie, will be okay.”

He shot her a grin. “You know me, I’ll breakdance my way to success. Or maybe become a magician! Hmm, or I could be a bestselling author..”

“ _Maxwell.”_

“Right.. uh..” He looked around. “As for Bertrand, he’s kinda figuring things out right now, I think. But, Jen.. when I invited you to Cordonia, I liked you, but I didn’t know you. I saw how Rick looked at you and thought maybe I could help him and set things right for House Beaumont. I didn’t know things would be this hard.”

She blinked. “Maxwell, you couldn’t have.”

“I know, just.. what I’m trying to say is that the way things are with House Beaumont.. that’s for me and Bertrand to fix, not you.” He returned her gaze. “I don’t want you to be unhappy because of us.”

She sighed in relief at his statement. “Oh Maxwell, you could never make me unhappy.” Quite the opposite, she thought for a moment, wishing she hadn’t drunk that champagne quite so quickly. “I mean, I _love_ being an honorary member of House Beaumont.”

“And we love having you,” he said.

“Even Bertrand?”

“Oh, yeah. He has a certain depth of frown he reserves for people he _really_ cares about.”

She smiled. “Good to know. Come on, let’s head back to the party.”

She stood up, but he pulled her back. “What if I mess up again? I might already be an internationally wanted man.”

“How about this.. I’ll keep an eye on you?”

He looked nervously back at her. “How do I know _you_ can be trusted?” He really didn’t seem too keen on heading back. Which led her to an enticing idea.

“Well, we could find somewhere else to go? Somewhere away from all the diplomats?”

“Ooh, Kiara told me that this building has a cool rooftop lounge..”

“I bet it has an _amazing_ view of the city,” she said, dreamily, picturing the two of them out on the roof, looking across at the skyline.

“Do you want to go check it out?”

Yes. Yes, she did. She really did. She had a sudden surge of courage brought on partly by what he’d just said to her, and partly by the champagne she’d consumed. She knew she was running out of time. In all reality, she’d probably chicken out, or she might just test the water. But something told her that it was now or never. In the light of what he’d just told her, about not expecting her to sacrifice her happiness in the name of House Beaumont, it seemed like the perfect opportunity too.

“I _have_ to see what that looks like,” she told him. “Come on, let’s go see what we can find.”

***

They took the elevator to the top floor, then found a small stairwell which they climbed up the rest of the way to the roof.

“Are you sure about this?” Jen asked him as they headed towards the top of the stairwell. He was so pleased she’d agreed to come up here with him. He’d have probably gone on his own if she hadn’t. Tonight had not been a good night at all, and he needed to get away from it all. And having Jen with him was a bonus. He could be himself with Jen. “It’s not signposted that there’s a lounge up here?”

“Maybe it’s a secret lounge,” he said. “In fact, I think that’s what Kiara said. She’s got all the contacts to know where these things are. She was saying she came up here before the party started…” He found the door leading out to the roof. “Here, look – rooftop lounge this way..”

They headed through an open door and onto the roof. There wasn’t a bar or anything, and nobody else was up here, but there were chairs and tables, plants, lights.. and the most amazing view of New York he’d ever seen. “Wow..”

“That view is unbelievable,” she said, as he leant against the railing, taking it all in.

“We’re on top of the world!” he said, turning to her as she joined him. “Now all I need is my faithful gorilla companion.”

“Whoa,” she said, looking up. “Look at the stars!”

It was a really clear night, and being up here just brought every star closer and clearer. It was quite something. Together, they gazed upwards for a few seconds.

“Ooh, do _you_ see an elephant smoking a pipe, too?” he asked her after a while.

“Huh?” she asked, as he pointed up at a constellation of stars, studying it for a few moments. “Oh! Yeah! I see the elephant! There’s its face. Wait, is that the trunk or the pipe?”

“Both? Do you think it uses its trunk to hold the pipe in its mouth, or just smokes right through the trunk?”

“Always asking the important questions,” she said to him.

He laughed, and they continued to stargaze.

Eventually, she spoke again. “You know, looking up at the stars is so romantic.”

“Yeah, I guess it kind of is,” he said, thinking he knew what she meant.

“And I’m.. I’m glad I’m sharing it with you,” she said, touching his arm.

“Oh..” He looked across at her, as they leant against the railing together, not sure how best to respond to that. What he did know was that he was in complete agreement. “Me too.”

She was looking at him intensely. “You know, with everything that’s happened, I’ve been thinking a lot about change. About how much _I’ve_ changed since coming to Cordonia. And how other people have changed too. Rick is King now. Hana stood up to her dad. Drake is an uncle.. but you, you haven’t changed very much at all.”

“Yeah..” he said, not sure if he liked where this was going.

“You’re still the same kind, happy-go-lucky, impulsive guy who walked into my bar what feels like a lifetime ago and banged on the table shouting for steaks..”

He laughed, nervously. “That sounds like a bad thing..”

“No, it’s not,” she said, smiling softly. “You know, I’m not sure I’ve properly thanked you for what you did that night.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” she said. “I wouldn’t have become an honorary Beaumont, or been to court.. I wouldn’t have travelled around the world..”

“Well, really, it was Rick, right?” he said, still unsure of what she was trying to say. “I mean.. you came to Cordonia for him.”

She sighed, shook her head, and turned so she had her back to the railing. “It was never really about him. It was about a guy standing outside my work, offering me the adventure of a lifetime.” She smiled again. “I had fun that night, but until you showed up the next morning, it was just a night. I would have gone on with my life like nothing had ever happened. What I’m trying to say is.. thank you.”

He sighed. “Maybe it would have been for the best if I’d just left you well enough alone.”

She turned to face him again. “What are you talking about?”

He looked down at his feet. “If _I_ brought you here, then _I’m_ also responsible for your name being dragged through the mud, for all the problems that have come up. I should have at least been able to fix them for you.”

She tapped his chin, to make sure he was looking at her, not his feet. “You’ve been fixing them. Weren’t you the one who spent all day on the phone trying to track down Tariq?”

“I guess..”

“And who helped me chase down a reporter on the streets of Italy?”

He smiled. “Ooh, I know this one. Me!”

“Exactly. And when I was sitting in the airport after the Coronation, waiting for my flight home, who came to my rescue, to bring me back to court?”

“Well, Bertrand was there too..”

“It was _you_ , Maxwell,” she insisted. “You’ve always been there for me, through everything, from the start. I can always count on you to be the bad cop to my good cop..”

“Yeah,” he said, relaxing into the conversation now. “Partners in crime! Or I guess in the opposite of crime. Partners in vigilante law enforcement! Wait, vigilantism _is_ crime.. Partners in stuff!”

She giggled, shyly. “Dance partners..”

“That too!” he said, happily. “Friends for life.”

As he looked at her, he noticed her expression change. She swallowed, and took a deep breath. “Maxwell.. you’re more than a friend to me.”

“I’m.. Wait, what?” His stomach flipped. What was she saying?

“Well, it makes sense. You’ve always been by my side; you’ve always championed me. And you’re the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning.. and not just because you’re basically my alarm clock. I guess.. I’ve always had a bit of a crush on you.”

His heart was going crazy. “You have?”

“Even that first day we met, you were so sweet and funny, and it was clear how much you cared about Rick. I didn’t think much of it at first, with all the excitement of court and the competition, but it’s been growing ever since, and.. well.. I can’t ignore it anymore.”

He just stood there, mouth agog, in shock, for a minute. He didn’t dare look at her. But he saw her many times in his head as his brain whirred furiously, through things that he should have picked up on, and little clues he’d just not thought anything of at the time..

_Maxwell, there’s no-one else I’d rather be dancing with right now.._

_What if I told you that I’m falling for someone else?_

_I’d rather stay out here with you. I could stay out here with you all night._

_We do look cute together, don’t we?_

_I guess it’d be safer if we stayed here together tonight.._

He finally plucked up the courage to look at her, to see her beautiful face gazing at him, as his heart pounded like never before in his chest. His head was full of so many thoughts, like how much in love with her he was even though he’d been trying to convince himself he wasn’t, how he couldn’t actually believe this was happening (and was she actually playing a joke on him? No, she wouldn’t joke about this) and the whole reason she was here, for Rick, for House Beaumont… What on earth was he going to say? 

“Maxwell? You can’t leave me hanging…”

***

She gazed up into the beautiful starry sky, and took in the New York landscape, hardly able to believe how perfect it was up here, how private, how idyllic. In fact, it was almost like her perfect Eiffel Tower date with Rick. Except, it was many, many times better than that, because this time the man standing next to her was Maxwell.

She knew she’d never get a better chance to talk to him about how she felt than now, but still had doubts, still felt weighed down by the expectations from both sides as to where her life would go next. Maybe she should just park that for now, just pretend that they were the only two people in the world. After all, they were the only two people on this rooftop. Yes, that would work.

“You know,” she said to him, “Looking up at the stars is so romantic.”

“Yeah, I guess it kind of is,” he said.

“And I’m.. I’m glad I’m sharing it with you,” she said, reaching out to touch his arm.

“Oh..” he said, looking across at her curiously. “Me too.”

She looked back at him carefully, wondering what he meant by that. Was that a ‘me too’ for sharing something romantic with her? Or just ‘me too’ for enjoying looking up at the stars with her? She wasn’t sure. Undeterred, she carried on. “You know, with everything that’s happened, I’ve been thinking a lot about change. About how much I’ve changed since coming to Cordonia. And how other people have changed too. Rick is King now. Hana stood up to her dad. Drake is an uncle.. but you, you haven’t changed very much at all.”

“Yeah..” he said, nervously.

She sighed, remembering her first impression of him so clearly, and fondly. “You’re still the same happy-go-lucky, impulsive guy who walked into my bar what feels like a lifetime ago and banged on the table shouting for steaks..”

“That sounds like a bad thing..” He still sounded edgy.

“No, it’s not. You know, I’m not sure I’ve properly thanked you for what you did that night,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” she reminded him. “I wouldn’t have become an honorary Beaumont, or been to court.. I wouldn’t have travelled around the world.”

He looked confused. “Well, really, it was Rick, right? I mean.. you came to Cordonia for him.”

She shook her head, and sighed. She turned around to face away from the railing they both leant on. “It was never really about him. It was about a guy standing outside my work, offering me the adventure of a lifetime. I had fun that night, but until you showed up the next morning, it was just a night. I would have gone on with my life like nothing had ever happened. What I’m trying to say is.. thank you.”

“Maybe it would have been for the best if I’d just left you well enough alone,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” He really wasn’t his energetic, positive self this evening, and that concerned her.

He was looking down at this feet. “If _I_ brought you here, then _I’m_ also responsible for your name being dragged through the mud, for all the problems that have come up. I should have at least been able to fix them for you.”

She tapped the bottom of his chin, and his blue eyes met her gaze. “You’ve been fixing them. Weren’t you the one who spent all day on the phone trying to track down Tariq?”

“I guess..” The sparkle started to come back.

“And who helped me chase down a reporter on the streets of Italy?” That was quite a moment between them that she should have seized.

He was smiling now. “Ooh, I know this one. Me!”

“Exactly,” she said, smiling back gently. “And when I was sitting in the airport after the Coronation, waiting for my flight home, who came to my rescue, to bring me back to court?”

“Well, Bertrand was there too,” he tried to argue.

“It was you, Maxwell. You’ve always been there for me, through everything, from the start. I can always count on you to be the bad cop to my good cop..”

“Yeah,” he said, livening up at last. “Partners in crime! Or I guess in the opposite of crime. Partners in vigilante law enforcement! Wait, vigilantism _is_ crime.. Partners in stuff!”

“Dance partners,” she said, feeling warm and fuzzy at the thought of their Cordonian Waltz.

“That too!” he said. “Friends for life.”

 _Fuck it._ She gulped, and took a deep breath. “Maxwell.. you’re more than a friend to me.”

“I’m.. wait, what?” He looked at her, an expression of complete shock on his face.

“Well, it makes sense,” she said, because it did to her. The words fell out. “You’ve always been by my side; you’ve always championed me. And you’re the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning.. and not just because you’re basically my alarm clock. I guess I’ve always had a bit of a crush on you.”

“You have?”

She nodded, and went on. “Even that first day we met, you were so sweet and funny, and it was clear how much you cared about Rick. I didn’t think much of it at first, with all the excitement of court and the competition, but it’s been growing ever since, and.. well.. I can’t ignore it anymore.”

The words stopped. For a long while, Maxwell said nothing, not quite meeting her eyes.

This wasn’t quite the reaction she’d hoped for.

Her heart felt like it was going to escape from her chest. What was he thinking about? Eventually, he glanced back at her, an unreadable expression on his face, but still nothing.

“Maxwell? You can’t leave me hanging…”

He looked away again. “I guess.. if I think about it… I’ve felt the same way.. for a while…”

She let out a little gasp. _Ohmygod._ “You have?”

He looked at her again. “I mean.. yeah.. you’re.. You’re amazing, Jen.”

She couldn’t help but beam, although her heart hadn’t stopped pounding.

He went on. “I figured it was like an extra strong friendship, where you also want to kiss your friend sometimes? I can’t believe.. I _never_ imagined you would feel the same way. This is.. I guess I’d say it’s unbelievable.”

She nodded, still smiling widely. She’d convinced herself he couldn’t possibly feel the same way so many times, that she genuinely felt amazed at his words. Why hadn’t he said anything? But then, why hadn’t she?

There was an obvious reason, of course. And judging by the expression that had just arrived on his face, it was about to be raised.

“But.. you’re here for Rick, aren’t you?” He looked at her soberly. “What about him?”

“I don’t want him,” she said, eyes locked with his. “And he doesn’t want a loveless marriage, like the one he’d have with Madeleine, anyway.”

Maxwell still looked troubled. “What about Bertrand?”

“What _about_ Bertrand?”

“Well, he’s still hoping that you’ll become Queen and restore House Beaumont..” He turned and gazed over the railing again. “It’s one thing if you don’t marry Rick because of some other reason, but if it’s because of… _me_ …”

She had of course already thought long and hard about this. “You’re right. It’s a complication.” She took his hand. “I’m not sure how to reconcile my feelings for you with the promises I’ve made to you and Bertrand. But I can’t help the way I feel about you. And I’m not going to hide it forever because of Bertrand. Though.. if you don’t feel the same way about me.. well, I don’t have any expectations. I just needed to tell you.”

“That’s not what I meant, Jen. I definitely _do_ feel the same way. I just need to think about.. what this all means.” He squeezed her hand. “Why are you telling me this _now_?”

She sighed. “With Rick and Madeleine’s wedding coming up, and us about to find Tariq, I’ve just been thinking a lot about my future lately. And who I might want to spend it with.”

Maxwell stared at her for a long moment, his expression somewhere between hope and uncertainty. She took a tentative step forward, her eyes locked on Maxwell’s. He smiled. In the next moment, she closed the distance, putting one hand on Maxwell’s shoulder while the other wrapped around his neck, bringing his lips to hers. He responded, his arms enveloping her tenderly as his lips met hers in a fervent, heated kiss. After a blissful moment, she pulled away, breathless.

He looked at her, a startled smile on his lips. “I didn’t even know I wanted to do that… but I _definitely_ wanted to do that.”

“Thanks?” she said, playfully. She just wanted to do it again already. The many hours she’d spent wondering what it felt like to kiss those lips had not been wasted.

He looked concerned. “Was that not the right thing to say?”

She beamed at him. “It was perfectly Maxwell.”

“All’s well that Maxwell,” he grinned.

She shook her head and groaned. “I’ve never heard that one before..”

“I’ve only just thought of it,” he admitted.

She looked back at him. “Riiight. So what happens now?”

“Now.. we should head back down to that party?” he suggested.

“Oh,” she said, a little disappointed. “I thought..” She just wanted to be alone with him, whether it was here or somewhere else.

He looked imploringly at her. “Jen.. as you said, there’s a lot going on right now, and we have a lot to think about. Maybe we’ll take it slow? Just for now?”

“I suppose so,” she said, sulkily.

He reached for her hand, and squeezed it affectionately, before releasing it.

“I guess we really should focus on the party,” she reluctantly agreed. “We have a lot to think about.”

“Yeah…” He was almost speechless. This had obviously been more of a shock for him than she’d thought. Clearly he hadn’t picked up on any of the hints she’d tried to drop over the last few months, Drake had been right on the money.

“This has been a lot to process, for both of us,” she said, as they headed back towards the stairs.


End file.
